Japanese deep sea hunting discovers rare earths as it seeks to reduce dependence on China | Mining News

Tokyo proclaims the Pacific Ocean mission to be the world’s first attempt to mine rare earths at such a depth.

Japan announced the discovery of rare earth elements at record sea depths.

The government said Monday that a deep-sea test mission in the Pacific Ocean had recovered sediments containing rare earths from depths of 6,000 meters (about 20,000 feet). Tokyo has stepped up efforts to exploit deep-sea deposits in a bid to reduce its dependence on China for these valuable minerals.

Government spokesman Kei Sato said the sample, collected by the Japan Agency for Marine and Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), was being analyzed to determine the amount of rare earths contained in the sediment.

She called the sediment recovery a “significant achievement both in terms of economic security and overall maritime development.”

On Sunday, Science and Technology Minister Yohei Matsumoto, whose ministry oversees JAMSTEC’s work, announced in a social media post that “rare earth sludge” had been collected by the research vessel Chikyu.

The deep-sea scientific drillboat set sail last month for the remote Pacific island of Minami Torishima, where the surrounding waters are believed to contain a rich reserve of precious minerals.

The area around Minami Torishima, which lies within Japan’s economic waters, is estimated to contain more than 16 million tonnes of rare earths. The Nikkei business daily says it is the third largest reserve in the world.

Late last year, Japan signed a deal with the United States to coordinate securing supplies of rare earths, with both countries eyeing China’s control of much of the planet’s critical minerals.

Japan particularly fears that China, the world’s largest supplier of rare earths, could stifle exports of the mineral due to tense diplomatic relations.

As tempers have heated in recent months, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has suggested that Tokyo could respond militarily if China attacks Taiwan.

Japan, which imports about 70 percent of its rare earths from China, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, was spooked when Beijing responded to Takaichi’s remarks by blocking exports of “dual-use” items potentially used for military purposes.

Rare earths, 17 hard-to-extract metals from the Earth’s crust, are used in everything from electric vehicles and hard drives to wind turbines and missiles.

Japan said JAMSTEC’s mission was the world’s first attempt to mine rare earths at such depth.