研究者らは、レアアース（希土類元素）が存在する可能性が高い場所を特定した世界地図を開発した。この研究は、これらの貴重な金属が地球内部の特定の地質学的特徴と関連していることを明らかにしている。
ケンブリッジ大学が主導する国際研究チームは、レアアース鉱床の予測地図を作成した。この研究では、約9,000個の岩石サンプルから得られたデータと、地球内部の地震波画像を組み合わせている。その結果、関連する火成岩は主に、地球で最も厚く古い大陸リソスフェアの急峻な縁に沿って形成されることが示された。
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The U.S. Geological Survey says the Appalachian region contains an estimated 2.3 million metric tons of undiscovered, economically recoverable lithium—an amount it calculates could replace about 328 years of U.S. lithium imports at 2024 levels.
China's Ministry of Natural Resources has published an atlas from two decades of marine geological surveys, mapping the location, concentration, and distribution of dozens of elements in seabed sediments, including rare earths, iron, manganese, and copper. State broadcaster CCTV reported the atlas as a 'master navigation map' for marine development and conservation, based on over 20,000 observation points. Researcher Dou Yanguang from the Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology said it enables precise targeting of resources and identification of sensitive ecological zones.
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Japan has identified an enormous underwater rare earth deposit 6,000 meters deep near Minamitorishima, the remote Pacific atoll central to its accelerated deep-sea mining plans. Detailed in a recent WIRED report, the find—building on equipment installation earlier this year—bolsters Tokyo's drive for independence from Chinese supplies of these critical manufacturing materials.
Brazil's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill on Wednesday that sets rules for the exploration of critical minerals and rare earths. The text includes R$ 5 billion in incentives and a council with veto power over foreign partnerships. The vote came on the eve of a meeting between Presidents Lula and Donald Trump.
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Nuclear physicists at the University of Tennessee have made three key findings about the rapid neutron-capture process that forms heavy elements like gold in stellar events. Their research, conducted at CERN's ISOLDE facility, clarifies how unstable atomic nuclei decay. The results, published in Physical Review Letters, could refine models of element formation in the universe.