Local Minerals

Large amounts of non-metallic minerals were also mined in Taiwan for use worldwide, one of which being the infamous Asbestos. Starting in 1937, Taiwan managed to produce around 820 metric tons of Asbestos per year, a lot of which was exported to foreign nations after Japan's occupation. The major deposits of Asbestos are found in Fongtian in the Hualien County of Taiwan, but production stopped after the health risks of the substance were brought to light (Owour, 2019). These elements are/were valuable in Taiwan but are also found in many other places as well. However, Taiwan does have reserves of a mineral in its borders that is fairly rare almost everywhere else. This mineral is known as Monazite, not to be confused with the mineral categorization, and it possesses some very interesting qualities. To start, Monazite contains around 50% of rare-earth elements including lanthanum, cerium, and thorium; the last of which is radioactive (Monazite Meaning, 2023). In addition, despite being made up of multiple minerals, Monazite is actually still a mineral itself and not a rock. A potential reason for this is that Monazite can grow as an accessory on igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. In Taiwan, this mineral can be found in sandbars off a specific coast between two rivers, the Jhoushuei river, and the Bajhang river (Liao, 2019).