Kazakhstan finds rare earths reserve said to be world's third-largest

On the eve of the EU-Central Asian Summit in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan announced the discovery of a large deposit of rare earth elements.

The find was made in Karagandy, the central region of Kazakhstan.

Now dubbed "New Kazakhstan," the deposit is said to have almost 1 million tonnes of cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and yttrium, elements used as components in devices such as smartphones, digital cameras and computer hard disks.

“Four prospective areas have been identified within the site with total estimated rare earth reserves reaching 935,400 tonnes," said the spokesperson for Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry and Construction.

Preliminary estimates suggest that the total reserves at the "New Kazakhstan" site could reach up to 20 million ton...
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