REM International’s exploration team will integrate results of the company’s drilling program, which located near surface rare earth minerals using the latest technology in under-sea robotics.
The exploration site also defined several long intervals of minerals and rock sediment packages. These intervals occur along the axis of the Izu Islands’ anticline and are located to the east of the drilling site.
REM International’s Exploration Manager, Mr. Satoshi Tanaka commented on the exploration saying “The findings of the extensive rare earth minerals signifies an important step in excavating the minerals. We believe that this is just the beginning and may be part of a larger mineral deposit at this location.”
“REM International see this as a potential significant milestone. We will send our excavation team out here in the coming weeks to confirm their potential. At the moment, the site has traces of cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, tin, tungsten and zinc. This is very, very interesting”, added Satoshi Tanaka, Exploration Manager of REM International.
About Us - REM International
REM International is a mineral exploration and production company with a commitment to discover, develop and produce from Rare Earth Mineral sites throughout the Pacific Ocean. REM International has a focus on innovative, state of the art technology in its exploration, analysis and mining of mineral sites, utilizing the latest advances in undersea robotics.
REM International has mining interests in both the Okinawa trough which lies to the northwest of Okinawa Island and off of the Izu Islands south of Tokyo bay. REM International geologists were also recently a part of an exploration of over 78 sites across the Pacific Ocean which concluded that more than 100 billion tons of rare earth minerals reside in the soft mud of the Pacific floor.
Japan consumes approximately 30,000 tons of rare earth metals each year and the Japanese Natural Resources and Energy Agency has, over the last few years, placed a focus on increasing Japan’s production of rare earth metals, offering development grants and exploration concessions in both the Okinawa Trough and around the Izu Islands. Both areas are highly active volcanic regions with rare earth producing hydrothermal vent systems.