Rickards’ Birthright Thesis — Phase II Begins

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The Alaska Petroleum Reserve is a 23 million acre area rich with petroleum and mineral resources.

In 2024, Joe Biden tried to make it impossible to drill and mine there.

As its name implies, the Petroleum Reserve was created to support America’s energy independence and economy.

But with the stroke of a pen, Biden attempted to nix all future development.

Now, the Trump administration is unlocking this vital asset. The move alone stands to boost domestic oil and gas production and create many thousands of high-paying jobs.

Here’s an excerpt from an official U.S. Department of the Interior press release dated June 2nd, 2025:

The Department of the Interior has proposed rescinding a rule put in place last year that added new restrictions on oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

The Reserve, encompassing approximately 23 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope, was set aside by Congress for oil and gas exploration and development as a matter of national energy security and policy in reaction to the oil crisis in the 1970’s. The BLM administers the reserve pursuant to the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, which mandates an “expeditious program of competitive leasing” while balancing the protection of surface resources.

With a competitive lease bidding process, this single move will unleash a vast area of natural resources for responsible development.

Trump is doing things in such a way that will create long-term operational certainty for companies looking to drill and mine in these areas.

It will simultaneously boost: government revenues, the economy, and the outlook of certain oil and gas stocks.

The Alaska Petroleum Reserve is 23 million acres of valuable land to be developed. But it’s just a small part of Trump’s ambitious plans.

Unlocking Federal Lands

Critics of Trump’s plan claim that he’s going to sell off our National Parks. That we’re going to see drilling rigs in Glacier Park.

Ridiculous. These vital areas are off-limits. Wilderness areas and wildlife refuges will remain protected.

These people apparently have no idea just how much land the Federal government owns. Here’s a map. Everything in red is federally-owned (surface and subsurface):

Source: Bureau of Land Management via Wikipedia

As you can see, out West and in Alaska, the Federal government owns tremendous swaths of valuable land.

These states out West, which joined the Union much later than the eastern part of the country, were given far less land to control. The federal government kept a much larger stake.

As a whole in the United States, the federal government owns about 28% of land. But in Nevada, for example, it owns a whopping 80%.

Much of this land is currently not being developed due to red tape and restrictions from previous administrations. Now we’re about to see a resource boom of epic proportions.

America will boost already substantial petroleum production, and regain its rightful place as a major producer of mineral wealth.

Jim Rickards’ Birthright Thesis

My colleague and friend Jim Rickards has famously argued that Trump’s actions stand to unlock $150 trillion worth of American mineral wealth over the next 4 years.

Now his thesis is going mainstream. On a recent All-In Podcast, the most influential investment podcast in the country, well-known investor and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya supported Jim’s claims, “I do think we own $100-$150 trillion of assets. All of us, as citizens. We own that.”

The good news is we still have time to prepare for this shift. The majority of investors are still unaware it’s happening. They’re too wrapped up in current events and big tech gains.

But we’re already seeing pops in the gold and silver mining space. Copper is heating up, and platinum is on fire.

Oil is spiking, and with the Middle East on the verge of another major war, it has plenty of room to run.

Eventually the Federal Reserve will have to cut rates and institute a new QE (money printing) program.

In other words, the mineral and hard asset space has durable catalysts in place to support it for the next decade-plus. The opportunity here is significant.

One of our primary goals over the coming months and years is to help readers capitalize on it. Stay tuned.

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