SINGAPORE—Japanese explorers have found large deposits of rare-earth minerals on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, British journal Nature Geoscience reported.
While the discovery has the potential to alter the dynamics of the global market for the metals, the difficulty of extracting the minerals from the sea floor present a big challenge.
The Japanese team found deep-sea mud containing high concentrations of rare-earth elements and yttrium at numerous sites throughout the southeastern and north-central parts of the Pacific Ocean, the journal said in its online edition over the weekend.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/04/japan-ipads-rare-earth
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