By Ayomide Otitoju
Japan is set to undertake the world’s deepest trial to extract rare earth minerals from the ocean floor, beginning in January 2026, in a bid to secure a stable supply of critical resources amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Shoichi Ishii, Director of Japan’s Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Programme, announced the initiative on Thursday. The operation will be conducted by the deep-sea scientific drilling vessel Chikyu, which will retrieve mineral-rich sediment from a depth of 5,500 metres in Japanese economic waters near Minami Torishima, Japan’s easternmost island.
“This will be the first attempt in the world to retrieve sediments from such depth,” Ishii said. “Our goal is to test the functionality of mining equipment rather than the volume of sediment extracted.”
The rare earth elements—vital to electric vehicles, wind turbines, smartphones, and defense technologies—are currently dominated by China, which controls nearly two-thirds of global mining and 92 percent of refining capacity, according to the International Energy Agency.
The planned three-week test, reported by Nikkei, aims to extract 35 tonnes of seabed mud, with each tonne expected to yield around two kilograms of rare earth minerals.
The development comes amid growing international concern over China’s grip on the rare earths supply chain. In April, Beijing tightened its export controls on the minerals, seen by many as a response to Western trade restrictions.
Japan, along with the United States, India, and Australia, recently pledged to strengthen critical mineral supply chains to reduce dependence on China.
However, environmentalists have raised concerns about the potential ecological damage of deep-sea mining. The International Seabed Authority is set to meet later this month to continue discussions on a global regulatory framework for seabed resource extraction.
