China may no longer be the leader in the production of rare earth metals for electronic devices. A team of Japanese geologists have found troves of rare earth minerals in the Pacific seabed, the BBC is reporting.

Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, led the research team that discovered the deposited. Prof. Kato estimated that there are 100 billion tons of rare earth minerals in the Pacific seabed.

Deposits were found in 78 locations along the seabed in international waters. The minerals were found east and west of Hawaii and east of Tahiti. The Guardian reports that the metals, tantalum and yttrium among them, found are used in smartphones, tablets, and flat-screen televisions.

In a letter to British journal Nature Geoscience, Prof. Kato wrote, "We estimate that an area of just one square kilometre, surrounding one of the sampling sites, could provide one-fifth of the current annual world consumption of these elements."

Global reserves of these minerals are roughly 110 million tons, according to the US Geological Survey, with the majority of them located China. Given China's grasp on production of rare minerals, Japan has sought other sources, and this recent discovery poses a potential threat to China's control.

Many firms are seeking licenses to dig for these minerals. Despite this outpouring of interest, the Malaysian government is hesitant to approve Australian-backed mining project because of local opposition and fear of radiation.

Regardless of whether or not the minerals recovered are viable, environmentalists are deeply concerned with the effects the mining will have on marine habitats.

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