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

日本学者称发现海底稀土资源

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).

日本一学者宣布其研究小组在太平洋广泛的海底淤泥中发现了大量的稀土资源。稀土是许多高科技产品的原材料之一。

东京大学研究地球科学的加藤泰浩教授说到，在一些稀土含量较高的海底，一平方公里面积的海底稀泥中可以提炼出稀土的量，约相当于目前全球稀土年需求量的五分之一。

加藤教授的研究小组在太平洋78个地点、水深3500至6000米的海底淤泥中发现了高浓度稀土资源。　　

该研究结果推算，该海域稀土储量约为900亿吨，是目前所知陆地储量1100万吨的800倍。

海底稀土的分布范围多处于公海，因此日本要进行开采和使用面临着诸多限制。但研究结果称：不排除在日本专属经济区(EEZ)内存在稀土资源的可能性”。