Mjumbe
Government Nationalizes Extraction Companies
October 10, 4774
Rare Earth Elements Mine in Arami
The mineral extraction industry is the largest source of income for Liore, and has been the primary attraction to the country by foreign powers during the time of colonialism. Liore's Caltropic Highlands, which take up more than half of the country's area, are a bountiful source of hydrothermal ore deposits ranging from veins of luxury metals such as gold or silver, or gemstone ores; to deposits of ores of industrial minerals such as cobalt in cobaltite, iron in magnetite, and rare earth elements in pegmatite. Despite their importance and value, the extraction of industrial minerals has largely been ignored by Liore's mining companies in favor of extracting luxury minerals, with the gold and gemstone markets together making up a considerable portion of Liore's GDP.
The companies responsible for Liore's extraction industry have largely been the products of domestic ventures rather than foreign multinationals, thanks to the Conservative Party's protectionist stance on markets. Though this policy has been continued by the socialists and is responsible for keeping Liori companies in Liori hands, it has stunted the growth of the Liori mineral extraction market and made it undesirable for foreign capital to be invested in Liore. Despite the stunted growth of the industry, the Conservatives' protectionism has made it much easier for the government to nationalize the industry without objection for abroad.
With the complete nationalization of the extraction industry comes a change in industry policy. Instead of continuing to focus on the extraction of luxury minerals, the Natural Resources Ministry has stated that it would instead focus on extracting Liore's industrial resources, specifically rare earth minerals and ores of cobalt, copper, and iron. It has also been announced that the Natural Resources Ministry will be receiving a large budget increase at the expense of the Health and Welfare Ministries, making the NRM one of the most highly funded government organizations. To justify this spending increase, Premier Obama stated "I don't like it, but Liore's one of the worst off nations in Terra. We don't currently have a lot going for us, but what we do have is an abundance of minerals crucial to the modern global economy, and we have our collective Liori strength. Right now, we have to focus on developing what we have if we are in the future to live better lives. In the short run, we must give up much needed funds to welfare, but in the long run we will have built an economy and amassed an amount of wealth large enough for our people to live happy lives."
The sudden nationalization of an entire industry has left private companies in other sectors shocked and afraid for their futures. Many would wish to close business in Liore and attempt move overseas ore sell their equipment overseas rather than be nationalized in the future. This possibility has left the government with a serious issue of a collapsed economy on the horizon. To counter this, General Secretary Kamau has issued his first Economic Directive, which threatens to nationalize any Liori companies that shut down or attempt to move overseas. To some, this Economic Directive is evidence that more mass nationalization is on the horizon and that the economy will drift ever closer to government ownership and direction.