Japan has confirmed the presence of rare earth elements in approximately 50 tons [1] of mud recovered from the deep ocean floor.
The discovery is part of a government-led effort to diversify the supply of critical minerals and reduce the nation's reliance on Chinese export restrictions. Rare earth elements are essential for high-tech manufacturing and green energy technologies.
Shoichi Ishii, a director for the Cabinet Office SIP program, said the project successfully established a world-first continuous shipboard lifting technology for rare earth mud that minimizes the impact on the deep-sea environment [1]. The mud was collected in February from the seabed near Minamitorishima at a depth of approximately 6,000 meters [3, 4].
Analysis of the samples revealed the presence of yttrium, neodymium, dysprosium, and gadolinium [1, 2]. According to the data, yttrium accounts for about 30% [1] and neodymium for about 20% [1] of the total rare earth content. Heavy rare earth elements make up approximately 54% [2] of the total volume.
While the types of elements have been identified, the Japanese government has not yet disclosed the specific concentrations of these minerals [1, 2]. The recovery operation was conducted by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) and the Cabinet Office [1, 2].
The project aims to prove that deep-sea mining can be conducted with lower environmental burdens compared to traditional land-based mining. This technical milestone follows previous government plans to test recovery capabilities in the region [5].
“Japan has confirmed the presence of rare earth elements in approximately 50 tons of mud.”
This development represents a strategic shift in Japan's resource security policy. By successfully extracting minerals from 6,000 meters deep, Japan is attempting to create a domestic alternative to the dominant Chinese supply chain for heavy rare earths, which are critical for electric vehicle motors and defense systems. However, the decision to withhold concentration data suggests that the commercial viability of large-scale extraction remains unproven.
