Japan retrieves deep-sea rare earth sediment in bid to cut reliance on China

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - Japan said Monday it has retrieved sediment containing rare earth minerals from a depth of 6,000 meters during a test mission aimed at reducing reliance on China, local media reported.

Japan said the mission was the world’s first bid to tap deep-sea rare earths at such a depth, calling it a significant step for economic security and maritime development, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

A deep-sea scientific drilling boat, Chikyu, which set sail last month for the remote island of Minami Torishima in the Pacific, located around 1,900 kilometers southeast of Tokyo, collected the sample.

The waters surrounding the island are believed to contain a rich trove of valuable minerals, including an estimated 730 years’ worth of dysprosium, used in high-strength magnets in phones and electric cars, and 780 years’ worth of yttrium, used in lasers.

Government spokesperson Kei Sato said the collected sediment will be analyzed further to determine how much rare earth is contained in the sample.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki told reporters the successful collection was “a meaningful achievement” for Japan’s economic security and its broader efforts in comprehensive ocean development.

Ozaki said moving toward industrialization of rare earth mud mining would require demonstrating the full process from extraction to separation and refining, as well as verifying economic viability based on ongoing test results.

Rare earth sediments lie on the seabed within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, but the cost of mining and transporting minerals from remote areas such as Minami Torishima remains a major hurdle to industrial use.