Japan Intends to Advance Deep-Sea Rare Earth Test

On rare earth exploration, Japan plans to use the deep-sea exploration ship "Earth" to carry out practical verification of the sea bottom rare metals around the South Bird Island of the Ogasawara Islands from 2021. This is more than a year ahead of schedule.

According to Japanese Sankei Shimbun reported on January 5, 2020, it has been confirmed that a lot of rare earth mud is contained in the seabed around the water depth of more than 5,000 meters around Nantou Island. The actual verification of the upcoming mining in Japan is to first insert a steel pipeline into the deep sea of about 3,000 meters by the "Earth" deep-sea exploration vessel of the Japan Marine Research and Development Agency, and then use pressure to inhale the mud on the seafloor.

the rare minerals image

It is reported that the Ogasawara Islands are between the Pacific Ocean and the Philippine Sea, located more than 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo. Among them, Minami-Tori-shima is further southeast of the Ogasawara Islands. In 2012, a research team at the University of Tokyo discovered a large number of rare earths, with the highest concentration of dysprosium.

It is reported that the "Earth" deep-sea exploration vessel owns the strongest drilling capacity in the world, and can even drill minerals below 7,000 meters below the seafloor. In the future, the exploration vessel will establish the technology of recovering rare earth mud from a depth of 6,000 meters and provide necessary verification data for future industrial mining.

The report pointed out that the Japanese government originally planned to start this experiment by the end of 2022. However, the fifth exclusive exploration area previously submitted by China has been approved by the International Seabed Authority. Japan is ready to speed up its actions to seize the opportunity.

aerial view of Minamitori Island image

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that nearly 60% of Japanese rare earths now rely on imports from China. When Japan-China relations deteriorated in 2010, China had restricted the export of rare metals. Since then, the industrialization of rare metals mined in the country has become a long-term topic.

According to Japanese Asahi Shimbun reported in a report on December 26, 2019, that the specific storage locations and reserves of rare earth mud were not announced, and the reason was related to China. Once the details of the deep-sea rare earth storage in the South Bird Island waters are announced to the outside world, may the frictions will occur again.

 

 

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