The Japanese have made an amazing discovery in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, which can change the world's unrecognized economy. Large deposits of rare earth metals have been detected in the area of the Ogasawara volcanic islands archipelago.
They can meet the needs of global industry for hundreds of years and threaten the position of a global pioneer, ie China, which controls as much as 95 percent of the world's rare earth production.
Discoveries in Japan's territorial waters, an area of 1,500 square kilometers. According to the latest analyzes, 16 million tons of various precious metals are stored there. This is a discovery of the world rank, because these metals are used in various electronic devices, for which the State has set itself inflated prices.
These deposits could satisfy the demand for yttrium at 780 years, europium at 620 years, Terb for 420 years and dysprosium for 730 years. There is only one problem. Oxides are located nearly 6000 meters below sea level and can be difficult to extract.
However, the Japanese will cope with it, because they are the world leaders in offshore drilling. Recall that scientists from the Land of the Rising Sun from the JAMSTEC project have the most modern ship called Chikyu, which allows for drilling up to 10 kilometers.
In the coming years, the researchers plan not only to help in the extraction of rare earth metals from the vicinity of the Minamitori island in the Ogasawara archipelago, but also want to be the first in the history of the world to drill through the earth's shell to the cloak and take samples from it for research.