[Governor Dinwiddie]

Seems one of our brainiacs in the Federal government could have figured this out, say about 1960.
 

[AZSonic]

Nah...too much money to be made.

[BeauBo]

“Seems one of our brainiacs in the Federal government could have figured this out, say about 1960.”

They did, during WWII, and it remained a Federal Government and DoD function since then.

First the Clinton Administration, and then the Obama Administration took the teeth out of our Industrial base and strategic minerals programs, and then they shrunk and defunded them.

Sabotage.