Yano's self-congratulation: "Successful trial mining of rare earths at the Minami-kyūjō Islands"
Japanese media, ABEMA News, reported on February 3: Economic Security Minister Yano Tomomi reported in a press conference after the cabinet meeting that Japan has successfully collected rare earth mud around the waters of the Minami-kyūjō Islands.
The "Earth" research ship hurriedly went to the Minami-kyūjō Islands on the 12th of last month and is currently conducting experimental mining near the islands to confirm whether the rare earth slurry mining system developed under the "Strategic Innovation Creation Program (SIP) marine project" is feasible.
In this test, the pipeline was successfully connected to the seabed at about 6,000 meters deep, and on the early morning of February 1st, the rare earth slurry was successfully pulled onto the ship for the first time.
Yano Tomomi said: "As a milestone since the project started in 2018, we are pleased that rare earth mud has been safely extracted from an extreme environment at about 6,000 meters. We will continue to actively promote R&D and technical standards."
"Regarding profitability, it is a later issue. We believe it is very important to significantly reduce the cost of collecting rare earth slurry to achieve industrialization in the future. Not only extraction, but establishing a process for smelting rare earths is equally important. Therefore, in the next fiscal year, we plan to collect rare earth mud in the surrounding waters of the Minami-kyūjō Islands, transport it to the Minami-kyūjō Islands for dehydration separation, then bring it back for refining, and comprehensively evaluate the economic feasibility of rare earth production. Based on the results, we will also consider the possibility of practical application and consider the government's future action plan."
When asked by reporters, "Do you think we should push domestic production regardless of cost?"
Yano Tomomi said: "At present, from the perspective of economic security, we cannot rely on a specific country to obtain rare earths. Therefore, even if it is not profitable, we should take action to protect national security."
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856077323093252/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author."