Up to now some core samples are send abroad as Kazakhstan is still facing shortage of duly certified laboratories that would meet the applicable international standards.
Greenland awarded Thursday its first big mining exploitation license, approving an iron extraction project by British company London Mining, and lifted a ban on exploiting uranium.
Japan on Saturday said it had won the rights to explore for cobalt-rich crusts in the Pacific, a move that could reduce its dependence on China for rare metals.
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev has instructed his government to return the oil fields that are not being put to use back into the state ownership.
Scientist in the United States on Sunday offered a molecular-level explanation for how a Chinese herbal medicine used for more than 2,000 years tackles fever and eases malaria.