Japanese scientists have found huge deposits of rare earth minerals on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, which are used to make high-tech electronics products.
The discovery was made by a team led by Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo. The team includes researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Reutersreported.
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 Kato.
In a telephone interview with Reuters, Kato said that the minerals were found in sea mud dig out from depths of 3,500 to 6,000 meters (11,500-20,000 ft) below the ocean surface at 78 different locations. Almost one-third of the sites possessed rich contents of rare earths and the metal yttrium.
Here are the exclusive pictures:
A bastnaesite mineral containing rare earth from the United States, is pictured next to cell phones, which utilises the minerals during manufacturing at a laboratory of Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, in this photo illustration taken July 5, 2011. Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.REUTERS/Yuriko NakaoThe United States, the European Union and Japan have formally accused China of violating international trade rules when it restricted the shipments of rare earth elements that global industries use in the manufacturing of high-tech and other products.REUTERSA bastnaesite mineral containing rare earth is pictured at a laboratory of Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, July 5, 2011. Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.REUTERS/Yuriko NakaoMud samples extracted from below the Pacific ocean surface where rare earth elements were found, is pictured at a laboratory of Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, July 5, 2011. Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.REUTERS/Yuriko NakaoYasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, shows off a mud sample extracted from the Pacific ocean surface where rare earth elements were found, during a photo opportunity at his laboratory in Tokyo July 5, 2011. Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.REUTERS/Yuriko NakaoYasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, displays a mud sample extracted from the depths of about 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) below the Pacific ocean surface where rare earth elements were found, at his laboratory in Tokyo July 5, 2011. Vast deposits of rare earth minerals, crucial in making high-tech electronics products, have been found on the floor of the Pacific Ocean and can be readily extracted, Japanese scientists said on Monday.REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao
