According to reports, Japan's Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology plans to mine rare earths from the seabed around Minamitorishima Island in the Pacific Ocean. From January to February next year, operational tests of the equipment will be conducted, using the deep-sea research vessel "Chikyu" to extend pipelines to the seabed at a depth of approximately 6,000 meters and extract silt containing high concentrations of rare earths.
Japan's exclusive economic zone seabed is distributed with rare earth-rich mud and rocks. Around Minamitorishima Island alone, the rare earth reserves amount to 16 million tons, ranking third globally in scale. The area is rich in elements such as dysprosium, used in manufacturing magnets for electric vehicle (EV) motors, and gadolinium, used as a control material in nuclear reactors.
If the equipment operational tests are successful, formal mining trials will commence in February 2027, with plans to extract approximately 350 tons of mud daily. The mud will undergo dehydration processing at facilities on Minamitorishima Island, which is under the jurisdiction of Ogasawara Village, Tokyo, before being transported to Honshu for rare earth extraction and refining.
Minamitorishima Island is located approximately 1,900 kilometers southeast of Tokyo and is Japan's easternmost island. The island covers an area of 1.2 square kilometers, with its highest point reaching 9 meters above sea level.
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