Japanese media: North Korea, or two-thirds of the world's rare earths

A UK-based private equity firm , said the company has found the world's largest rare earth oxide deposit in North Korea.

Last month, the British company called SRE Mining Limited announced the results of its evaluation of Korea reserves of rare earth oxides . The most striking is that the company claims an estimated 216 million tons of Dingzhou ore containing rare earth oxides, rare earth elements , including light , heavy rare earth elements and rare earth minerals. According to Voice of America radio reports, which will make the world's rare earth oxide reserves increased by about twice as much. USGS recently estimated that global reserves of 110 million tons of rare earth oxides .

REE is used from mobile phones to guided missiles and many other cutting-edge technologies. Although extremely rare earth elements are not rare , but Chinese control over 90% of the market share , as in the mining of rare earth , China 's laws and regulations relaxed than in Western countries . China past performance of such a tendency from time to time , namely the use of its near-monopoly of rare earth elements in the political disputes to seek advantage over other countries.

The outside world has long been known that North Korea has a considerable underground reserves of rare earth and other mineral deposits , it is estimated that the value of SRE Mining Limited reserves is much higher than the previous judgment . Theoretically , this finding may break Chinese control of the rare earth market , because North Korea has to reach China 's rare earth reserves of more than 6 times. In addition, as in developed countries like North Korea without consideration of environmental regulations and labor conditions of exploitation of rare earth elements .

Nevertheless, significant barriers still exist to suppress expectations . The challenge now will be how the mining of rare earth and then shipped to foreign markets in North Korea. In addition to the technical challenges involved are North Korea's political environment so that foreign companies working in the country is extremely difficult to carry out , which limits the ability to exploit its huge mineral wealth in Pyongyang in the past few decades .

When the assessment results released last month , SRE Mines Ltd. also revealed that the company has with North Korea trade in natural resources companies formed a joint venture company called Pacific Century Rare Minerals Ltd. , to the rare earth market. This joint venture will be located in the British Virgin Islands , it may be because SRE Mines Ltd. in trying to circumvent sanctions.

Pacific Century, the company has been awarded a 25-year contract to develop Dingzhou rare earth mine . Alleged that the company intends to build a factory on the rare earth deposits . However, the North Korean regime has abruptly canceled foreign companies a long history of long-term contracts , sometimes just impulsive , but sometimes also because political relations with foreign firms Country Pyongyang appeared changed.


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