Japan maps rare earth reserves:

Discovery

Japanese researchers have mapped vast reserves of rare earth elements in deep-sea mud, enough to feed global demand on a “semi-infinite basis,” according to a fresh study.

The deposit, found within Japan’s exclusive economic waters, contains more than 16 million tons of the elements needed to build high-tech products from mobile phones to electric vehicles, according to the study, released Tuesday in the journal “Scientific Reports.”

The team, comprised of several universities, businesses and government institutions, surveyed the western Pacific Ocean near Minamitorishima Island, Japan.

In a sample area of the mineral-rich region, the team’s survey estimated 1.2 million tons of “rare earth oxide” deposited there, said the study, conducted jointly by Yutaro Takaya, researcher with Waseda University and Yasuhiro Kato of the University of Tokyo, among others.

The finding extrapolates that a 2,500-square kilometre region off the southern Japanese island should contain 16 million tons of the valuable elements, and “has the potential to supply these metals on a semi-infinite basis to the world,” the study said.

The area reserves offer “great potential as ore deposits for some of the most critically important elements in modern society,” it said. (AFP)