America and China are competing fiercely for rare earth metals, with President Trump signing an executive order to expedite deep sea mining, a move influenced by Vancouver-based The Metals Company, which aims to bypass UN regulations for commercial mining. CEO Gerrad Barron highlights the company’s significant potential, asserting it should be valued much higher due to the vast mineral resources in its license areas, despite facing opposition from environmentalists and a Canadian moratorium on deep sea mining. Barron argues that the extraction of these minerals is essential for renewable energy, countering environmental concerns with claims of less ecological impact than land-based mining.