A visit by Chinese investors to Greece is hardly surprising bearing in mind the treasure-trove hidden in Greek soil, valued at 40 billion euros. Meetings are underway for an exchange in technical know-how and the exploitation of Greece’s natural resources.

There are currently two research programs underway in both sea regions and mainland areas of Greece. If significant amounts of precious metals and minerals are found in the subsoil there could be huge benefits for Greece and Greek industry at large with a number of new contracts being spawned, especially in the hydrocarbon industry, that will inject vital funds into the Greek economy and facilitate growth in the region. Officials conducting the research, however, are reserved as the studies on Greece’s rare deposits are still at the very early stages and would require long and tedious investigations before offering tangible results.

Greece’s natural resources:

The above elements can be used as catalytic automobile converters, in petroleum refining, in TVs, mobile phones, portable DVDs, laptop computers, rechargeable batteries in hybrid and electric cars, generators for wind turbines, medical devices, photovoltaic systems, missile defense satellites, etc.

Greece is one of five European countries with rare metal and mineral reserves, along with Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Europe could be a new market for which a huge portion of Greek reserves may be exported once the first estimations are confirmed. In fact, rare-earth metals in Greece and Nordic countries should be tapped to save Europe’s car and electronics industries from uncertain imports, according to European geologists.

EURARE was created to locate Rare earth element deposits in Greece and it isn’t surprising that the group has already held its kick-off meeting in Greece last year. Furthermore, the 1st ERES conference, in the framework of EURARE, was held on the isle of Milos this month.