Word's getting around that Washington's eyeing over $1B in deals for mineral extraction and rail infrastructure in central Africa. The focus? Locking down supplies of rare materials tagged as "national security priorities." For those tracking hardware dependencies in crypto mining and tech manufacturing, this move signals another front in the global scramble for resource control. Infrastructure investments like these don't just reshape trade routes—they ripple through supply chains that power everything from ASIC production to data center expansion. Geopolitics and industrial strategy colliding, as usual.