Critical Minerals in World War 2: Part 1. The Buildup (1919-1939)

What’s the most important part of World War 2 you’ve (probably) never heard much about? The role of critical minerals!

From the search for uranium ores in east Asia and the Colorado Plateau, to the contest for Ukrainian manganese deposits and Indonesian oil, to the secret agents roaming South America for tungsten – almost every nation on earth was involved in the wartime mineral resources supplies. The war started partly over access to oil, coal, iron, copper, and ferroalloy elements like nickel, manganese, tungsten, and chrome. Supplies of those and other strategic minerals also determined wartime strategy and objectives and eventually would help drive the outcome of the fighting and the outlines of the postwar peace. We’re still living in the world created by the last global struggle over mineral resources.

This first part of the forthcoming Critical Minerals in World War 2 trilogy covers the years leading up to the war (1918-1939). (How Minerals Made Civilization)

Video Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:18 Critical Minerals in World War II
01:09 Lessons from World War I
02:05 After the Great War
04:02 Minerals Critical for War
06:09 The "Haves" and the "Have Nots"
09:53 The "Have Nots" Start Searching
11:45 The Gathering Storm
16:22 National Boundaries Overflow
18:19 Appeasement Begins
20:03 The Eve of War

(c) Isabel Barton, 2022

#worldwar2 #mineralresources #mininghistory #history #appeasement #geopolitics

[johnfajer]

These are absolutely delightful videos, thank you so much!

[ljkarr]

Very timely. “History Doesn't Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”

[johnmetzger]

interesting, and now all these years on ...