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The find is being called a "semi-infinite" amount, enough to supply the world for hundreds of years. China previously had the stranglehold on such metals.
Quote:
A new finding that could change the global economy
The newly discovered deposit is enough to "supply these metals on a semi-infinite basis to the world," the study's authors wrote in the study.
There's enough yttrium to meet the global demand for 780 years, dysprosium for 730 years, europium for 620 years, and terbium for 420 years.
The cache lies off of Minamitori Island, about 1,150 miles southeast of Tokyo. It's within Japan's exclusive economic zone, so the island nation has the sole rights to the resources there.
"This is a game changer for Japan," Jack Lifton, a founding principal of a market-research firm called Technology Metals Research, told The Wall Street Journal. "The race to develop these resources is well underway."
Japan started seeking its own rare-earth mineral deposits after China withheld shipments of the substances amid a dispute over islands that both countries claim as their own, Reuters reported in 2014.
Previously, China reduced its export quotas of rare earth minerals in 2010, pushing prices up as much as 10%, The Journal reports. China was forced to start exporting more of the minerals again after the dispute was taken up at the World Trade Organization.
Rare-earth minerals found in Japan in a 'semi-infinite' deposit - Business Insider
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/12/japa...n-pacific.html
Quote:
A new finding that could change the global economy
The newly discovered deposit is enough to "supply these metals on a semi-infinite basis to the world," the study's authors wrote in the study.
There's enough yttrium to meet the global demand for 780 years, dysprosium for 730 years, europium for 620 years, and terbium for 420 years.
The cache lies off of Minamitori Island, about 1,150 miles southeast of Tokyo. It's within Japan's exclusive economic zone, so the island nation has the sole rights to the resources there.
"This is a game changer for Japan," Jack Lifton, a founding principal of a market-research firm called Technology Metals Research, told The Wall Street Journal. "The race to develop these resources is well underway."
Japan started seeking its own rare-earth mineral deposits after China withheld shipments of the substances amid a dispute over islands that both countries claim as their own, Reuters reported in 2014.
Previously, China reduced its export quotas of rare earth minerals in 2010, pushing prices up as much as 10%, The Journal reports. China was forced to start exporting more of the minerals again after the dispute was taken up at the World Trade Organization.
Rare-earth minerals found in Japan in a 'semi-infinite' deposit - Business Insider
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/12/japa...n-pacific.html
