RARE EARTHS IN THE PACIFIC: PR KATO PRESENTS AT PECC MEETING

When, in August 2011, Pr Yasuhiro Kato and his team of scientists published their findings in « Nature geoscience », the rare earth mining industry and geologists were fascinated, according to the profession. The fact is that the research results were timely, only about one year after China, having conquered a quasi monopoly on the rare earths world market, announced prices and quantities settings for its exports. Metals included in the rather vague concept of rare earths are or fundamental importance for most of the technologically advanced products we use now everyday. Accordingly, land resources of those elements which had not been exploited, or mines which had been closed because of the very low prices initially set by China were put to use in the rest of the world. But it takes time to start operations and the grades and type of metals are different in different geological occurrences. So it was striking to be told that in French Polynesia and Hawaii, there were enormous quantities of high grade metals, albeit by some four thousands meters depth. Japanese industrial companies and probably some others are trying now to assess the economic value of the resources.

Pr Kato was asked by PECC to present more extensively his findings during the last seminar on Ocean Resources which was held in New Zealand on December 4 and 5. Excerpts of his presentation areattached.

KATO:rare earths

GROWING CHINA INTEREST IN ARCTIC

The melting of arctic ice creates vast economic opportunities, access to enormous mineral, oil and gas reserves and to shorter marines routes from the Pacific to the Atlantic oceans.

Due to the transformation of the Arctic region, pressure from non-Arctic states like China and others is bound to increase and as suggested could escalate the friction between littoral and non-Arctic states. It is no wonder that China is expected to expand its role as decisive power in the region’s management. China has had a permanent presence in the Arctic since 2004, when it established a research station–Huang He Zhan–in Svalbard, Norway, which is well inside the Arctic Ocean in the Barents Sea. Also, China already has the largest foreign embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland, in expectation of Iceland becoming a major shipping hub.

Further, China is reportedly planning three Arctic research expeditions over the next three to four years. The country has announced its intention to build a new 8,000 tonne icebreaker by 2013, which would be an addition to its current vessel, the Xuelong-Snow Dragon, in order to cruise the Arctic region to conduct various expeditions. Interestingly, no Arctic state possesses a larger non-nuclear powered icebreaker than China.

China has also expressed its interest in obtaining permanent observer status in the Arctic Council. The Arctic Council has eight members states–Canada, the US, Russia, Denmark (Faroe Islands and Greenland), Norway, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland. In addition, the Council includes six permanent observers, which are all European (France, Germany, Poland, Britain, and Spain), and ad-hoc observer members, including Japan, South Korea, and China.

 

 

Note: The North East Sea route is in red and the North West Sea route is in blue.
Source: Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration

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NO NEED FOR DIRECT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN SOUTH AMERICA AND ASIA?

The map speaks by itself…

LE PACIFIQUE SUD MANQUE DE CABLES

Les cartes des câbles sous marins montrent une concentration des liaisons entre l’Europe et les Etats Unis d’un côté, et de ces derniers et l’Asie de l’autre par l’hémisphère nord. Le Pacifique sud n’est relié par aucune transversale. En particulier il est curieux de constater que l’Amérique latine ne dispose d’aucune liaison avec l’Asie, sinon via les réseaux transitant par les Etats Unis alors que le commerce entre la Chine et cette zone se développe rapidement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE PACIFIC OCEAN IS WELL SUITED FOR OTEC

OTEC, or ocean thermal energy conversion, is an energy technology that converts solar radiation to electric power. OTEC systems use the ocean’s natural thermal gradient—the fact that the ocean’s layers of water have different temperatures—to drive a power-producing cycle. As long as the temperature between the warm surface water and the cold deep water differs by about 20°C (36°F), an OTEC system can produce a significant amount of power. The tropical parts of oceans are thus a vast renewable resource, with the potential to help us produce billions of watts of electric power. This potential is estimated to be about 10 to the power of 13 watts (1000 GW) of baseload power generation, according to some experts. The cold, deep seawater used in the OTEC process is also rich in nutrients, and it can be used to culture both marine organisms and plant life near the shore or on land. The following map shows how the temperature gradients are spread over the oceans. Obviously, the Pacific is the most « gifted ».

RENFORCEMENT DU RESEAU ARGO

L’IFREMER annonce un nouveau programme pour renforcer le réseau ARGO dans le cadre du projet NAOS. Voir communiqué joint. communiquifremersurnaos.pdf

PERMIS DE RECHERCHE ATTRIBUES PAR L’ISA DANS LE PACIFIQUE

La Haute autorité des fonds marins a attribué un nombre important de permis dans la zone Clarion-Clipperton. Elle a dans le même temps délimité des zones dont elle conserve la gestion.