HITTING LICKS

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“Slang for a lucrative criminal action, typically brief with minimal effort.”

GHOST WEEK (cont.)
https://goldenportfolio.com/state-of-the-silver-union/
State of the Silver Union
by Garrett Goggin, CFA, CMT  /   January 5, 2026

“You wouldn’t expect there to be much silver related news between Christmas and the 5th of January – but you’d be wrong. For one, the elephant in the room: The Trump administration accomplished a surprise extraction of Venezuela’s President Maduro. Venezuela does have some unknown and untapped supply of silver reserves in a mineral-rich area known as Arco Minero del Orinoco, but that’s not the meat of this story.

Deposing a world leader in Latin America creates geopolitical disruption and uncertainty. People buy risk-off assets like gold and silver when they don’t know what else to do. Venezuela is allied with China, and the revelation that a team of American Delta Force operators can whisk a country’s leader away, at will, undermines every relationship between and among America’s adversaries. If Maduro can get deleted, why not literally any other leader of a China-friendly country? Forget instability in Venezuela, the whole Latin American order is jumbled and uncertain.

Consider: the $75/ounce silver mark was broached well before taking Maduro… meaning the price does not yet reflect this news. At the same time, we’re now on the other side of the end of widespread silver exports from China. Starting on January 1, 2026, China started heavily restricting silver exports. Reminder that China was the largest exporter of silver, exporting something like 60% of all silver per year… Then, yesterday, the U.S. Dept of Defense announced they were funding a silver smelter in Tennessee, to the tune of $7.4 billion. The project is designed to create a reliable domestic supply of refined silver…”

NO BLOOD for SILVER
https://ibtimes.co.uk/jpmorgan-funds-6-billion-smelter-plant-hours-after-us-seizes-venezuela-metal-wealth
JPMorgan Funds £6 Billion Smelter Plant Hours After US Seizes Venezuela Metal Wealth
byChelsie Napiza /  05 January 202

“JPMorgan Chase underwrote a £6 billion ($8 billion) smelter plant investment in the United States just hours after Washington moved to seize Venezuelan metal wealth tied to longstanding international legal claims. The deal reflects a rapidly shifting landscape in critical minerals, supply chain security and sovereign asset control. It also stresses how strategic metals like silver, zinc and copper are becoming central to diplomatic leverage and industrial policy. The planned smelter is a joint venture involving Korea Zinc Co. with backing from the US government and private investors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co.

https://youtu.be/5fk2JUgseFc

The facility, to be located in Clarksville, Tennessee, represents a £6 billion ($8 billion) investment to build a state-of-the-art processing plant for non-ferrous and strategic minerals. Federal support has been substantial. Washington has offered direct incentives through the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS and Science Act, which awarded $210 million (£171 million) in funding for equipment and infrastructure at the site. The US Department of Defence has also taken a significant equity position in the venture.

The smelter is designed to produce 13 different metals onshore, from base metals such as zinc, lead and copper to precious metals like silver and gold, as well as strategic elements including antimony, indium and germanium essential for semiconductors, aerospace and defence industries. Officials have positioned the project as a critical step toward reducing US and allied reliance on Chinese controlled processing capacity.

China currently dominates global value chains for many of these materials, and US policymakers see domestic processing as vital to economic and national security. The announcement of this smelter financing coincided with a significant legal and political development involving Venezuelan assets. In recent proceedings, a Lisbon District Court granted orders to attach and seize funds held by Venezuela in Portuguese banks, as part of ongoing arbitration and enforcement actions by private companies seeking compensation under contracts revoked by Caracas.

According to publicly filed SEC documents and arbitration filings, these attachments cover assets potentially amounting to €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion), although verification of first-priority rights remains underway.These proceedings follow years of litigation tied to mining rights in Venezuela that were cancelled by Venezuelan authorities, triggering claims for damages and recovery. Venezuela’s rich mineral endowment, including vast reserves of gold, silver and other strategic materials, is central to these disputes.

The Caribbean nation’s Arco Minero region, for example, is estimated by some analysts and company prospectuses to contain minerals valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, though precise figures vary widely and are subject to technical assumptions. While direct Venezuelan government reserves estimates are disputed, the country’s mining potential has been well documented by geological surveys and corporate exploration data. Legal actions against Venezuela are also underway in multiple jurisdictions, from arbitration tribunals to national courts, with companies invoking bilateral investment treaties and international arbitration mechanisms to enforce awards and attach assets.

JPMorgan’s involvement in the smelter project is part of a broader initiative the bank has publicly described as a decade-long, £800 billion ($1.5 trillion) commitment to strengthen supply chains in critical sectors, including energy and materials. The bank’s strategy combines direct investment pools, structured financing and advisory services to support projects with national and economic security implications.

In this case, JPMorgan is serving both as a financier and advisor, helping structure the capital stack that includes government equity, loans and private capital, effectively aligning private sector finance with federal industrial policy priorities.

The smelter plant is touted by supporters as a job creator and industrial anchor, expected to generate hundreds of high-skilled roles in Tennessee while boosting domestic capacity for refining materials crucial to advanced manufacturing, defence and computing. Beyond commercial and legal dimensions, the smelter deal is shaping up as a linchpin in broader supply chain and industrial strategy.

The Commerce Department’s incentives and Defence Department equity stake reflect a coordinated federal approach to leverage private capital for strategic manufacturing infrastructure. The smelter project is expected to begin phased operations around 2029, with initial outputs focused on base metals before scaling up full production across its portfolio of critical and precious metals. The rapid mobilisation of capital and government power signals a new chapter in how nations and banks assert control over the resources that underpin modern industry and strategic autonomy.”

ARCO MINERO del ORINOCO
https:/.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/arc_of_desperation/
Venezuela’s decision to open Orinoco Belt to mining
by Bram Ebus / Autumn 2017

“Venezuela is suffering through the worst economic crisis in its history. The country’s oil-reliant economy (it has one of the world’s largest oil reserves) has been in a downward spiral since 2014 when global crude prices started crashing. Mismanagement and widespread corruption – billions of dollars in revenue generated by oil and gas exploitations have been siphoned away by the country’s elites – have resulted in rising unemployment, widespread hunger, and political unrest.

The country’s inflation rate rose beyond 400 percent in April, and a wave of anti-government protests has left at least 130 people dead. By late July, economists were predicting that the country’s runaway “hyperinflation” rate would continue to rise, further devaluing the badly weakened national currency, the Bolívar. Amid this turmoil, on July 30, the government rigged a referendum to install a new Constitutional Assembly that will rewrite the constitution and cement President Nicolás Maduro’s hold on power.

It was in an effort to stave off this freefall that Maduro signed an executive order in early 2016 turning a vast, 43,183-square-mile swath of pristine wilderness in the upper reaches of the Amazon rainforest into a “Special Economic Zone” devoted to large-scale mining projects run by national and multinational corporations. He then invited 150 companies from 35 countries to explore the region for minerals. “This is a magnificent source of wealth that will begin substituting petroleum as our only source of foreign earnings,” he announced. By August 2016, Maduro claimed to have signed $10 billion in contracts with several multinational mining companies, but so far he has offered no documented proof of these agreements.

Dubbed “Arco Minero del Orinoco,” or the Orinoco Mining Arc, by former president Hugo Chávez, the swath of land – which lies south of the Orinoco Oil Belt – comprises 12.2 percent of the country’s territory. It includes parts of the Amazonas and Delta Amacuro states, and northern Bolívar – the country’s illegal gold mining hotspot, where Las Claritas is located. According to government estimates, the entire Arco Minero region contains some 7,000 tons of gold, which if certified would make Venezuela’s gold deposits second only to Australia’s.

Similarly, it estimates the region has $100 billion in coltan reserves (the metallic ore is widely used in electronic devices), as well as three billion carats in diamonds, and at least 300,000 metric tons of rare earth elements. None of these estimates, however, have been independently verified. The area slated for mining holds seven natural monuments and five national parks…”

CRITICAL MINERALS
https://tfiglobalnews.com/jpmorgans-smelter-deal-with-the-us-gov
Coincidence or strategy? JPMorgan’s smelter deal with US
by Smriti Singh /  January 6, 2026

“In early January 2026, global attention was seized by a dramatic U.S. military operation in Venezuela that culminated in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his transfer to the United States to face long-standing narcoterrorism charges. Officially codenamed Operation “Absolute Resolve,” the intervention was framed by Washington as a law-enforcement action aimed at dismantling a regime accused of drug trafficking, corruption, and regional destabilization. Yet almost immediately, alternative narratives began to surface—raising questions about whether the true objective extended far beyond drugs or democracy.

Russian state media outlet RT ignited controversy by claiming that U.S. C-17 military cargo planes entered Venezuelan airspace to seize approximately $3 billion in gold reserves, suggesting the operation was a calculated resource grab. Social media amplified the allegation, with viral posts accusing the United States of orchestrating a “hostile takeover” of Venezuela’s sovereign wealth. While no credible international media outlet has verified claims of U.S. forces physically removing gold bullion from Venezuelan vaults, the broader context of the intervention has kept suspicions alive.

Reputable outlets such as The New York Times, Reuters, and The Guardian confirm that the U.S. conducted extensive air and special forces operations, including the use of C-17 aircraft to transport troops and equipment to staging areas in the Caribbean. However, these reports consistently state that the mission focused on military neutralization and personnel extraction, not resource seizure.

There is no independent evidence confirming that Venezuelan gold reserves were raided or airlifted out of the country during the operation. That said, Venezuela’s gold remains a sensitive and politically charged issue. The country holds an estimated 161 tonnes of gold, valued at roughly $22 billion, amid record-high global prices driven by geopolitical instability. In the past, disputes over Venezuelan gold stored abroad—particularly in the Bank of England—have already exposed how strategic and contested these assets are.

Beyond existing reserves, Venezuela sits atop one of the most resource-rich regions in the world: the Orinoco Mining Arc (Arco Minero del Orinoco). Spanning roughly 43,000 square miles, this region is believed to contain trillions of dollars’ worth of untapped minerals, including gold, silver, coltan, bauxite, and rare earth elements—materials vital to defense systems, electronics, and renewable energy technologies.

Estimates suggest the Arco Minero alone could hold thousands of tonnes of gold and vast silver deposits, making it one of the largest unexploited mining zones globally. Under Maduro’s rule, however, development was hindered by sanctions, corruption, armed groups, and environmental damage. China and Russia had already established footholds through loans, mining partnerships, and security cooperation, positioning themselves as long-term beneficiaries of Venezuela’s mineral wealth.

Fueling suspicion further was the revelation of a massive $8 billion metals smelter project announced shortly after Maduro’s capture. The facility—backed by J.P. Morgan, built by Korea Zinc, and partially owned by the U.S. Department of Defense (with a reported 40% stake)—is designed to process gold, silver, copper, antimony, gallium, and germanium. Critically, the deal was finalized weeks before the U.S. operation, though it was publicized only afterward. Supporters argue the project is part of Washington’s broader effort to secure supply chains for critical minerals amid rising competition with China. Critics counter that the timing suggests planning to process an influx of Latin American metals, potentially from a post-Maduro Venezuela.

Online analysts and alternative media quickly focused on J.P. Morgan’s historical exposure to silver markets, where the bank has long faced allegations—though not proven in this context—of holding large short positions. Following the Venezuela operation, gold and silver prices surged, intensifying speculation that increased supply from Venezuela could stabilize markets and benefit major financial players. While these claims remain speculative, they resonate with historical precedents in which geopolitical interventions intersected with economic and resource interests—from the Middle East to Latin America.

President Donald Trump openly stated that the U.S. would be “repaid” for stabilizing Venezuela through its oil wealth, the largest proven reserves in the world. Though he did not publicly mention gold or minerals, critics argue that oil is only part of the equation. Venezuelan bonds surged following Maduro’s removal, signaling market expectations of a U.S.-friendly economic restructuring and renewed access for Western corporations. The absence of large-scale drug seizures from the operation has further fueled skepticism about the official narrative. Meanwhile, countries such as China, Russia, and Cuba condemned the intervention as imperialistic, while U.S. allies largely supported it or remained cautious.

No verified evidence confirms that U.S. forces seized Venezuela’s gold reserves during the January 2026 operation. However, the convergence of strategic minerals, pre-invasion industrial deals, financial interests, and regime change has ensured that suspicions will persist. Whether the intervention was a legitimate law-enforcement action or the opening move in a broader resource realignment remains a matter of debate. What is clear is that Venezuela’s vast underground wealth—gold, silver, oil, and critical minerals—now sits at the center of a geopolitical struggle far larger than one man’s arrest. In the 21st century, power is increasingly measured not just in missiles or markets, but in who controls the resources that fuel the global economy.”

PREVIOUSLY

SCIENCE vs CHAOS
https://spectrevision.net/2023/01/11/technocracy-now/
BITCOIN DURING BLACKOUTS
https://spectrevision.net/2019/11/01/bitcoin-without-electricity/
CHAVEZ WANTS HIS GOLD
https://spectrevision.net/2011/08/18/chavez-wants-his-gold/