UPDATED 19:20 PM EST, February 4, 2013
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaican and Japanese officials on Monday launched a pilot project designed to investigate whether rare-earth elements can be commercially extracted from the island's bauxite waste.
Researchers with Japan's Nippon Light Metal Co. Ltd. believe they have found high concentrations of rare-earth elements in the island's red mud, a byproduct of bauxite refining into alumina, the basic material for manufacturing aluminum.
