The New Zealand Institute of Minerals to Materials is maiden-funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to the tune of $10million$12million over four years. To date, China has been the fountain of rare earth mineral production, with little environmental oversight, but China's mineral-bearing clays are becoming scarce. West Coast rare earth minerals are sure to open a new chapter of environmental concern, once the fish hooks of extraction, processing and manufacturing are laid bare in permit and consenting processes. The rare earth minerals category is considered the ''highest risk but highest reward'' category of the institute's target, being harder to extract and process into a concentrate. ''This time next year we will have runs on the board for those three [tungsten, coal and rare earth minerals],'' he said.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 12, 2017 17:15 UTC