Japanese scientists announce the discovery of rare earth minerals in the mud of the Pacific Ocean floor.

Japan?finds massive rare earth deposits in Pacific seabed

日本學者稱發現海底稀土資源

A Japanese researcher says his team has discovered massive, easily extractable deposits of rare earth minerals, used in many high-tech products, in the mud of the Pacific Ocean floor.

"The deposits have a heavy concentration of rare earths. Just one square kilometer (0.4 square mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth of the current global annual consumption," said Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo.

Kato's team found rare earth minerals in sea mud taken from depths of 3,500 to 6,000 meters (about 11,500 to 19,500 ft) below the ocean surface at some 78 spots.

Based on Kato's estimation, the rare earth deposits total approximately 90 billion tons, 800 times current confirmed global reserves of 11 million tons.

Most of the rare earth deposits found were located in international waters, therefore Japan may face limitations if it plans to exploit the minerals. But Kato also said there is a high possibility of finding rare earth within Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

日本一學者宣布其研究小組在太平洋廣泛的海底淤泥中發現了大量的稀土資源。稀土是許多高科技產品的原材料之一。

東京大學研究地球科學的加藤泰浩教授說到，在一些稀土含量較高的海底，一平方公里面積的海底稀泥中可以提煉出稀土的量，約相當于目前全球稀土年需求量的五分之一。

加藤教授的研究小組在太平洋78個地點、水深3500至6000米的海底淤泥中發現了高濃度稀土資源。　　

該研究結果推算，該海域稀土儲量約為900億噸，是目前所知陸地儲量1100萬噸的800倍。

海底稀土的分布范圍多處于公海，因此日本要進行開采和使用面臨著諸多限制。但研究結果稱：不排除在日本專屬經濟區(EEZ)內存在稀土資源的可能性”。