The island, known as Minami-Tori-shima or Marcus Island, lies 2,000km off the mainland, and has been studied by researchers from Yutaro University
The island, known as Minami-Tori-shima or Marcus Island, lies 2,000km off the mainland (Image: Google Mapx)
An isolated island off the coast of Japan could be home to an almost infinite supply of rare metals .
The island, known as Minami-Tori-shima or Marcus Island, lies 2,000km off the mainland, and has been studied by researchers from Yutaro University.
A study in 2013 suggested that there was a huge resource of metals in the deep-sea mud surrounding the island.
But until now, the vast scale of the resource remained unclear.
Yttrium is one of the precious metals discovered (Image: Wikimedia Commons/Jurii)
In the study, the researchers took samples from the deep-sea mud, and found that they contained extremely high amounts of various metals, with some as high as 22,000 parts per million.
In particular, four extremely rare metals - yttrium, terbium, europium and dysprosium - were found, and the researchers estimate there could be 16 million tonnes of them.
In the study, published in Scientific Reports , the researchers, led by Yutaro Takaya, wrote: “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.”
These metals have unique physical and chemical properties, that make them critical to many technologies.
This includes in wind turbines, fluorescent lamps, hybrid vehicles and rechargeable batteries.
But supplies are dwindling - meaning the Japanese resource could prove crucial.
The researchers added: “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.”