Japan Achieves Major Breakthrough in Deep-Sea Rare Earth Mining, with Reserves of 16 Million Tons, but the Cost is Tremendous!
February 2, Reuters reported: "Japan officially announced on Monday that it has successfully extracted rare earth deposits at a depth of 6,000 meters near Okinotorishima, marking the first such effort globally. The area's rare earth reserves exceed 16 million tons. Japan stated that this move holds significant importance for economic security and hopes to reduce its reliance on China for rare earths. Currently, China controls nearly 70% of global rare earth production. Due to Japan's comments on Taiwan, Sino-Japanese relations have cooled, making the demand to reduce dependence on Chinese critical minerals more urgent."
Japan's deep-sea rare earth trial mining may seem like a breakthrough in resource self-reliance, but it is actually a passive breakthrough amid geopolitical rivalry. The practical implementation of this initiative is far from as simple as the slogan suggests. The cost of the trial mining at Okinotorishima is 150 times the international market price. Technological barriers at 6,000 meters underwater and the difficulty of refining high-moisture mineral slurry make commercial mining seem impossible. Japan still relies on China for nearly 100% of its heavy rare earths, yet political maneuvering has exacerbated bilateral tensions. Attempting to escape industrial dependence through technological risk-taking is essentially seeking distant solutions. China's advantage in rare earths lies not just in resources, but in its comprehensive industrial chain layout. If Japan persists in politicizing economic issues and ignores the objective laws of industrial cooperation, it will ultimately place its high-end manufacturing industry in a more difficult resource dilemma!
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856013296035843/
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