Commentary / World Apr 21, 2021
Florida toxic waste crisis could be key to China rare earths fight
by David Fickling
Concerns about China’s control over rare earths are probably overblown given how abundant they are.
Commentary / World Mar 21, 2021
Gas won’t save a nation that can’t fill up its tank
by David Fickling
Despite its world-beating exports of coal and liquefied natural gas, Australia is seriously short of oil.
World Jan 16, 2021
Norway eyes sea change in deep dive for metals instead of oil
by Nerijus Adomaitis
The country hopes to be one of the first to harvest seabed metals for electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar farms.
Business Dec 11, 2019
The U.S. Army plans to fund construction of rare earths processing facilities, part of an urgent push by Washington to secure domestic supply of the minerals used to make military weapons and electronics, according to a government document seen by Reuters. The move would mark ...
Business Sep 28, 2019
Nine countries join U.S. strategic minerals initiative in bid to cut reliance on China
The United States has said nine countries have joined its initiative to help discover and develop reserves of minerals used in the production of electric vehicles, part of an effort to cut the world's reliance on China for the high-tech materials. Secretary of State Mike ...
National Sep 26, 2017
Japan successfully undertakes large-scale deep-sea mineral extraction
Japan has successfully tapped into a deposit of mineral resources from a deep-water seabed off the coast of Okinawa, the economy ministry said Tuesday, the largest such extraction of its type. It is the first time metals have been mined from the seabed in such ...
World / Politics Aug 21, 2017
Trump eyes Afghanistan's elusive mineral riches to fund ongoing 16-year war
U.S. President Donald Trump is eyeing Afghanistan's mineral wealth to help pay for a 16-year war and reconstruction efforts that have already cost $117 billion. But investors who have studied the country, one of the world's most dangerous, say the idea is a pipe ...
Business Aug 9, 2016
Japan plans to search for, mine metals deep beneath the ocean
by Masumi Suga and Ichiro Suzuki
As deep as 1,600 meters under water and 1,500 km from Tokyo, work has begun on the new hunting ground for metals in Japan, a country so devoid of natural resources that most of what it needs has to be imported. As the nation depleted ...
National / Science & Health Feb 11, 2016
A research team led by Japanese high school and university students has discovered that mulberry leaves contain biogenic minerals known as opal phytoliths, rigid microscopic structures that persist after death and can have forensic value. They are found in a range of plants. Archaeologists, for ...
Business / Corporate Mar 26, 2015
Toho Zinc to restore Australian mine output amid global deficit
Toho Zinc Co., Japan's third-biggest producer of the metal, will restore full capacity at its Rasp mine in Australia around the middle of this year after improving access to high-grade ore deposits. Production of zinc concentrate at the site in New South Wales will rise ...