Part 6/9:
The technology to refine these elements is not new. It was developed over a century ago, in the early 1900s, and the U.S. historically had robust processing capabilities. Yet, in the modern context, building such infrastructure is neither particularly technologically difficult nor prohibitively expensive—the main barriers are logistics, environmental regulation, and strategic prioritization.
Currently, the U.S. has not invested significant resources into establishing these facilities. Zing notes with some irony that the current push is akin to "building a piggy bank"—a preparatory step that leaves the sovereign nation unprepared until it proceeds with actual infrastructure development.