“…In addition, the mud is especially enriched in Y and HREE, which accounted for 44% (Y: 4.4 Mt-REO; HREE: 2.6 Mt-REO) of the total amount of REY in this region. The research area was estimated to be able to supply Y, Eu, Tb, and Dy for 780, 620, 420, and 730 years, respectively, and has the potential to supply these metals on a semi-infinite basis to the world 11 . Of the divided areas, B1 (9.9 km × 10.6 km = 105 km 2 ) shows the highest REY resource potential, with an average ΣREY of more than 1,700 ppm.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This area includes MR15-02 PC01, where extremely REY-rich mud was confirmed, and the ΣREY of the 5–6 mbsf interval exceeded 5,600 ppm. The resource amount of area B1 was estimated to be 1.2 Mt-REO, which would account for 62, 47, 32, and 56 years of annual global demand for Y, Eu, Tb, and Dy, respectively (Supplementary Table S4 ) 11 . Figure 2 Concentration maps of average ΣREY of mud from the seafloor to 10 mbsf and of each 1-m depth interval.…”
Potential risks of supply shortages for critical metals including rare-earth elements and yttrium (REY) have spurred great interest in commercial mining of deep-sea mineral resources. Deep-sea mud containing over 5,000 ppm total REY content was discovered in the western North Pacific Ocean near Minamitorishima Island, Japan, in 2013. This REY-rich mud has great potential as a rare-earth metal resource because of the enormous amount available and its advantageous mineralogical features. Here, we estimated the resource amount in REY-rich mud with Geographical Information System software and established a mineral processing procedure to greatly enhance its economic value. The resource amount was estimated to be 1.2 Mt of rare-earth oxide for the most promising area (105 km2 × 0–10 mbsf), which accounts for 62, 47, 32, and 56 years of annual global demand for Y, Eu, Tb, and Dy, respectively. Moreover, using a hydrocyclone separator enabled us to recover selectively biogenic calcium phosphate grains, which have high REY content (up to 22,000 ppm) and constitute the coarser domain in the grain-size distribution. The enormous resource amount and the effectiveness of the mineral processing are strong indicators that this new REY resource could be exploited in the near future.
“…In addition, the mud is especially enriched in Y and HREE, which accounted for 44% (Y: 4.4 Mt-REO; HREE: 2.6 Mt-REO) of the total amount of REY in this region. The research area was estimated to be able to supply Y, Eu, Tb, and Dy for 780, 620, 420, and 730 years, respectively, and has the potential to supply these metals on a semi-infinite basis to the world 11 . Of the divided areas, B1 (9.9 km × 10.6 km = 105 km 2 ) shows the highest REY resource potential, with an average ΣREY of more than 1,700 ppm.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This area includes MR15-02 PC01, where extremely REY-rich mud was confirmed, and the ΣREY of the 5–6 mbsf interval exceeded 5,600 ppm. The resource amount of area B1 was estimated to be 1.2 Mt-REO, which would account for 62, 47, 32, and 56 years of annual global demand for Y, Eu, Tb, and Dy, respectively (Supplementary Table S4 ) 11 . Figure 2 Concentration maps of average ΣREY of mud from the seafloor to 10 mbsf and of each 1-m depth interval.…”
Potential risks of supply shortages for critical metals including rare-earth elements and yttrium (REY) have spurred great interest in commercial mining of deep-sea mineral resources. Deep-sea mud containing over 5,000 ppm total REY content was discovered in the western North Pacific Ocean near Minamitorishima Island, Japan, in 2013. This REY-rich mud has great potential as a rare-earth metal resource because of the enormous amount available and its advantageous mineralogical features. Here, we estimated the resource amount in REY-rich mud with Geographical Information System software and established a mineral processing procedure to greatly enhance its economic value. The resource amount was estimated to be 1.2 Mt of rare-earth oxide for the most promising area (105 km2 × 0–10 mbsf), which accounts for 62, 47, 32, and 56 years of annual global demand for Y, Eu, Tb, and Dy, respectively. Moreover, using a hydrocyclone separator enabled us to recover selectively biogenic calcium phosphate grains, which have high REY content (up to 22,000 ppm) and constitute the coarser domain in the grain-size distribution. The enormous resource amount and the effectiveness of the mineral processing are strong indicators that this new REY resource could be exploited in the near future.
“…As exploration firms eagerly worked towards bankable feasibility studies for their respective REE-bearing mineral deposits, their focus was on attracting customers to demonstrate the feasibility of their business plan to mining firms. The latter would then be willing to purchase their developed mineral deposit, as mining is rarely an activity exploration firms pursue, see [92]. Thus, their business plan development centered on establishing integrated chains from exploration and mining to chemical separation (see [33,93]), when they realized that customers had an interest in separated, individual REE products.…”
Section: Case 1: Construction Of Risk Relationships For a Ree-tollingmentioning
This article addresses a research gap on the challenges-specifically risk and value-connected to realizing the potential for closing loops for rare earth elements (REE). We develop an analytical framework from conceptual elements of the global value chain (GVC) framework and the relational theory of risk to examine several empirical REE industry cases for loop closure. The aim of the paper is to identify how risk-value relationships are constructed by different actors as governance structures form in transactions prior to price setting and how these have impacts on the closure of REE loops. Often, REE loops are not closed, and we find that constructions of the risk-value relationship by industrial actors and by government agencies are unstable as they pursue different motivations, consequently hindering REE loop closure in GVCs. In light of this, we propose that governments mediate against the construction of risk-value relationships by facilitating information on the characteristics of end-of-life materials that qualify these for re-entry into loops.
“…However, in recent years, the supply base for rare earth elements is noticeably broadening [9]. Between the years 2011 and 2015, a five-fold increase in delineated global REE resources was identified-with almost 40% of these in Europe (Greenland, Sweden, Germany and Turkey) [10]. Although the majority of these discoveries are in carbonatites and alkaline rocks, there is an ongoing emphasis on research into alternative sources and the genesis of other types of REE deposits [11,12].…”
Rare earth elements (REE) are essential raw materials used in modern technology. Current production of REE is dominated by hard-rock mining, particularly in China, which typically requires high energy input. In order to expand the resource base of the REE, it is important to determine what alternative sources exist. REE placers have been known for many years, and require less energy than mining of hard rock, but the REE ore minerals are typically derived from eroded granitic rocks and are commonly radioactive. Other types of REE placers, such as those derived from volcanic activity, are rare. The Aksu Diamas heavy mineral placer in Turkey has been assessed for potential REE extraction as a by-product of magnetite production, but its genesis was not previously well understood. REE at Aksu Diamas are hosted in an array of mineral phases, including apatite, chevkinite group minerals (CGM), monazite, allanite and britholite, which are concentrated in lenses and channels in unconsolidated Quaternary sands. Fingerprinting of pyroxene, CGM, magnetite and zircon have identified the source of the placer as the nearby Gölcük alkaline volcanic complex, which has a history of eruption throughout the Plio-Quaternary. Heavy minerals were eroded from tephra and reworked into basinal sediments. This type of deposit may represent a potential resource of REE in other areas of alkaline volcanism.
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