Las Rare earth They are an element of great economic and geopolitical value and China stands as the greatest power. To its Japanese neighbors He didn’t make any grace have to depend on them and, after an exhaustive search, a year ago they found the treasure: A huge site of rare earths at the bottom of the ocean. Japan has already set date to start extracting them.
January 2026. It is the date on which Japan will begin with the first test extraction, according to Nikkei thing. They expected to start this year, but the delivery of the necessary duct to reach the deposit did not reach last May and delayed the project for a year. The duct, manufactured in the United Kingdom, has cost 12,000 million yen (about 71 million euros) and will allow them to reach a depth of 5,500 meters.
El Chikyu. The Japanese Marine-Terrestrial Science and Technology Agency or Jamstecfor its acronym in English, will use the chiichyu, the name received by the Japanese drilling boat with which these valuable minerals will extract. In 2022 they already did a test at 2,500 meters deep In front of the coast of the Ibaraki Prefecture, but the challenge they face now is to drill more than double deep: 5,500 meters. If they get it, it would be the first time that rare earths are extracted to so much depth.
In the first phase, Chikyu will extract 35 tons of mud. It is estimated that a ton of mud contains about 2 kilos of rare earths, so, in the best case, we could be talking about 70 kilos of rare earths.
A key discovery. As we said, Japan found the site almost a year ago in front of the island of Minami-Torishima, located about 1,900 kilometers southeast of Tokyo. The site is located in the exclusive economic zone of Japan, so their extraction corresponds to them. Among the minerals it contains, one of the most abundant would be gadolinio, used in the nuclear industry, and the disposium, used mainly in magnets for electric vehicles. It would also be rich in manganese, cobalt and nickel nodules, key components in the creation of batteries.
The amount is not clear and is decisive. In the beginning there was talk of a site of 16 million tons, which would place Japan in third place behind China (44 million) and Brazil (21 million). However, a Analysis of the University of Tokyo He pointed to the loot would be much more juicy: 230 million tons. If confirmed, Japan would overcome China and be placed as the largest reserve of rare earths in the world.
Independence. Japan’s efforts to find rare earth date back to 2022 and had a clear goal: to be independent. Currently, Japan depends on imports to meet their needs of rare metals, with 60% of them from China. The Japanese government invested 6,000 million yen (about 42 million euros) in the first extractions and have made it a priority since then.
Friction. As we said, China currently has the largest reserve of rare earth and that gives it A huge power. Just a few weeks ago something unusual happened: A combat fleet, headed by two Chinese aircraft carriershe entered the Japanese ZEE near the island of Minamitori. Japan He did not confirm If he presented a formal protest and just declared that he had sent “the appropriate message.” It is not the first time that China enters the Japanese area, nor are the friction between the two countries, But it is certainly a somewhat controversial maneuver given the economic importance of the area.
Image | TNFSA
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