Sihaiwang: rare earth has a wide range of applications, which can be said to be one of the most important metals in the world. Japan's Research Institute recently pointed out that there are a large number of rare earths in the sea bottom of South bird island in the Pacific Ocean, with a storage capacity of more than 16 million tons.
According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun and Kyodo news agency, a research team composed of Takahashi Takashi, a lecturer at Waseda University, and Hiroshi Kato, a professor at Tokyo University, announced that the amount of rare earth resources on the sea floor around Narita, the easternmost part of Japan, is more than 16 million tons, which can be used for hundreds of years around the world. This is the first time that detailed resources have been identified. The research team has also established efficient rare earth recovery technology and will explore cooperation with the Japanese government and private enterprises in mining.
The team collected 25 seafloor samples from the sea area about 2500 square kilometers south of nanniao island for analysis. The results show that there are a lot of rare earth resources in the world. Dysprosium used in hybrid vehicles and other magnets can be used for 730 years, and yttrium used in lasers and other magnets can be used for 780 years.
In addition, the team also established a high-efficiency rare earth recovery technology. Kato, a professor at the University of Tokyo, stressed: 'the development of rare earth resources has entered the field of vision by greatly improving the economy'.
Kato and others first found soil around nanniao island that may contain a lot of rare earth. In 2014, the "rare earth mud Development Promotion Alliance" was established with Mitsui ocean development, Toyota Motor, etc. The results of this study were published in the British science journal Science Report (Electronic Edition) on April 10.
Rare earth is widely used in hybrid electric vehicles, pure electric vehicles, wind turbines and other strong magnets, as well as LED fluorescent materials and many other cutting-edge technology fields.