Japan keeps finding treasure in deep-sea mud. For the second time in two years, a Japanese team has announced vast deposits of rare earth elements on the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
Rare earth elements are not rare, but they are hard to find in easy-to-mine minerals. Right now China produces about 97 per cent of the world's supply, which is used in many common technologies, from LCD screens to the batteries in hybrid cars.
Two years ago, Yasuhiro Kato and colleagues at the University of Tokyo announced they had found mud below international waters that is rich in rare earths. The latest discovery is nearby but is inside Japan's exclusive economic zone, so the nation will not need to negotiate mineral rights.
Kato hopes that the new find will help weaken China's monopoly on rare earths. Currently, Japan imports more than 80 per cent of its rare earths from China so when China restricted its exports in 2010, Japan had to endure skyrocketing prices.
If Japan could produce 10 per cent of its own rare earths, Kato predicts that China would lower its prices in order to impede Japan's development project. "This is a very effective resources strategy," he notes.
Kato's team will explore the new rare earth resources for the next two years, before mining begins.
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