Afghanistan Holds Enormous Bounty of Rare Earths, Minerals [View All]

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Geologists actually mapping the country's mineral bounty suspect its prime cache of coveted rare earth elements is considerably larger than the latest estimate lets on
By Sarah Simpson | September 29, 2011 |

Recent exploration of rare volcanic rocks in the rugged, dangerous desert of southern Afghanistan has identified world-class concentrations of rare earth elements, the prized group of raw materials that are essential in the manufacture of many modern technologies, from electric cars to solar panels. So far, geologists say, they have mapped one million metric tons of these critical elements, which include lanthanum, cerium and neodymium.

That's enough to supply the world's rare earth needs for 10 years based on current consumption, points out Robert Tucker, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist who is the lead author on a report released on September 14. And from clues his team gathered during three high-security reconnaissance missions to the site, he suspects the deposit is actually much larger.

"I fully expect that our estimates are conservative," Tucker told Scientific American. "With more time, and with more people doing proper exploration, it could become a major, major discovery."

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http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=afghanistan-holds-enormous-bounty-of-rare-earths