Japan's huge Rare Earth deposits

[AdamG]

This is curious, it was previously reported as a discovery in 2013.

Missed that, good catch but un-surprising that technical publications would catch it well in advance of the main stream media.

Kinda raises the question again, what did Beijing find (or think they've found) that makes the Spratlys such an important game field?

[davidbfpo]

OK, not in Japan, in Israel via BBC Monitoring:

A mineral - previously only known to exist in outer space - has been found on Earth by an Israeli mining company

Link:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-new...where-46816297
Sounds horribly like PR "spin" and the use is jewellry.