JAPAN TODAY




 

Japan will embark on a rare earth mining test in the Pacific at a depth of 6,000 meters around Minamitori Island this month, hoping to counter China's dominance in the supply of the elements crucial to modern technology.

The country is eyeing joint deep-sea rare earth development with the United States in waters off the island about 2,000 kilometers southeast of Tokyo, having agreed to cooperate on the mining and processing of rare earths and critical minerals, and to create new and secure supply chains for them.

The team will leave a central Japan port on Jan 11 aboard the science vessel Chikyu and test devices to retrieve sediments containing high concentrations of rare earth elements and monitor the environmental impact, returning on Feb 14. A full-scale test is planned for 2027 with the goal of collecting 350 tons of sediments per day.

China accounts for roughly 70 percent of the world's rare earth production and about 90 percent of refining, according to the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security.

China's grip on rare earth elements, used in electric vehicles and many electronic devices as well as in a variety of industrial and defense applications, leaves other countries vulnerable to Beijing's export controls.

An advantage of the planned deep-sea rare earth development is the absence of radioactive substances in the area's sediments, in contrast to terrestrial rare earth mining that involves the separation and removal of thorium and uranium, according to Shoichi Ishii, program director at the Cabinet Office's Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy.

Aiming to break free of reliance on China, other countries are also scrambling to build new supply chains for rare earth elements and critical minerals.

The Group of Seven major economies are planning a ministerial meeting with resource-rich countries such as Australia and Chile later this month in Washington to establish a framework for cooperation to stably secure such materials, according to people familiar with the matter.