South Korean media: Japan begins rare earth mining in the South Pacific!
On January 11, South Korean media "Finance News" published an article stating that China has begun imposing rare earth export restrictions on Japan, while Japan is starting a rare earth mining operation in the deep sea of the South Pacific.
According to reports by media such as "Asahi Shimbun," the research vessel "Earth" of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) will depart from the port of Shimizu in Shizuoka City, central Shizuoka Prefecture on the morning of the 12th, heading to Okinotori Island.
The "Earth" was originally scheduled to depart on the 11th afternoon, but was postponed by one day due to weather conditions. Okinotori Island is about 1,950 kilometers from Tokyo.
The research vessel will conduct checks on the operation of mining equipment and the work process within the exclusive economic zone approximately 150 kilometers southeast of Okinotori Island.
The exploration team will deploy mining equipment to extract rare earth elements from waters about 6,000 meters deep. It is expected that the dredger will recover rare earth-containing soil by the end of this month. After that, the team will separate and refine the rare earth elements from the slurry. Drilling operations are planned to continue until the 14th of next month.
If Japan successfully extracts rare earth elements, it will officially launch a large-scale mining trial in February of next year, extracting up to 350 tons of rare earth-containing soil daily to assess its profitability. According to "Asahi Shimbun," "It is understood that this is the world's first deep-sea rare earth exploration." Given that China currently produces about 70% of the world's rare earths, Japan is working to establish its own rare earth supply chain.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1854022259924041/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.