Japan reports rare earth find in sediment from deep-sea mission

Japan's deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu anchored at a pier of the Shimizu port in Shizuoka prefecture on September 11, 2013. [AFP]

Sediment containing rare earth was retrieved from ocean depths of 6,000 metres (about 20,000 feet) on a Japanese test mission, the government said Monday, as it seeks to curb dependence on China for the valuable minerals.