A research team led by Ho Tai Kato, associate professor of University of Tokyo, has found that seabed mud in the central and southeastern parts of the Pacific Ocean contains large quantities of rare earth resources at depths of 3,500-6,000 m - according to a report in the British-based online journal Nature Geoscience.
Global market demand for rare earths is expected to increase further, especially with the application of rare earths in hybrid cars and high-tech products. Global rare earth reserves on land are estimated at 110 million mt, with China accounting for 95 pecent of the total.