ICYMI: "A massive, 'semi-infinite' trove of rare-earth metals has been found in Japan"

"...Words like 'uranium', 'rare earths', etc. seem to be magic to

 those unsuspecting who are often fleeced..."

Gerald M. Loeb

The Battle for Investment Survival

Simon & Schuster, 1935

This news will not be welcome in the corridors of power in Beijing. Or Inner Mongolia.*
From CNBC:

• Researchers have found hundreds of years' worth of rare-earth materials underneath Japanese waters — enough to supply to the world on a "semi-infinite basis," according to a study published in Nature Publishing Group's Scientific Reports.
• Rare-earth metals are crucial in the making of high-tech products such as electric vehicles and batteries, and most of the world has relied on China for almost all of its needs.

Researchers have found hundreds of years' worth of critical rare-earth metals beneath Japanese waters — enough to supply to the world on a "semi-infinite basis," according to a study published on Tuesday.

Screenshot of Scientific Reports

The location of the seabed where a large amount of rare-earth metals is found.

The materials sit in a roughly 965-square-mile Pacific Ocean seabed near Minamitorishima Island, which is located 1,150 miles southeast of Tokyo, according to the study published in Nature Publishing Group's Scientific Reports.

Rare-earth metals are crucial in the making of high-tech products such as electric vehicles, mobile phones and batteries, and the world has relied on China for almost all of its rare-earth material.
The seabed contains more than 16 million tons of rare-earth oxides, according to the study. That's equivalent to 780 years' worth of yttrium supply, 620 years of europium, 420 years of terbium and 730 years of dysprosium, it added....MORE

*Baotou, Inner Mongolia is probably the most polluted place on earth, all in service of keeping our iPhones and other shiny objects flowing from the factories.

Our old pal, Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare Earth Hi-Tech Company Ltd. (now renamed China Northern Rare Earth [Group] High-tech Co, Ltd), 600111:Shanghai exchange, is the largest producer in the world's largest producing nation. Rare Earths are only rare to the extent the Chinese government allows CNREHTCL to release product to the rest of the world.

A discovery of the magnitude Japan is claiming changes geopolitics, not just the availability (more so than price) of electronic stuff.

We've been doing this rare earth action for a while. Here's October 2010's "'Japan Scrambles for Rare Earth; (AVL.TO; LYC.AX; MCP) 600111: Shanghai"