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Over the past twelve months or so I have mentioned the rare earth elements – the ‘black gold’ of the 21st century.
Japan has recently discovered huge deposits of some of the rare earth elements ……. unfortunately they are between 4000 – 6000m below the surface of the sea. However, the demand for these elements is so great that I would speculate sometime (I am not sure when) in the future they will become economically viable to be mined.
Watch this space ….. although you may have to watch for a while!
I read about the discovery on the BBC website – it is worth glancing over the article below. However, what makes the article particularly good is a short video clip (approx 2 minutes in duration) found approx. half way down the page:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14009910
