Japan to launch world’s deepest rare earth mining test from ocean floor in January
Japan will in January 2026 begin a groundbreaking deep-sea mission to extract rare earth minerals from the ocean floor, marking the world’s deepest trial of its kind, a government official said on Thursday.
Shoichi Ishii, director of the Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Programme, said a scientific drilling vessel named Chikyu will conduct a test cruise to retrieve mineral-rich sediments from a depth of 5,500 metres (3.4 miles) below the sea in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
“Our goal… of this cruise is to test the function of all mining equipment,” Ishii told AFP. “The amount of sediment extracted doesn’t matter at all.”
The operation will take place near the remote Pacific island of Minami Torishima, Japan’s easternmost point and a military base. According to Japan’s Nikkei business daily, the Chikyu aims to extract 35 tonnes of seabed mud over three weeks, with each tonne estimated to contain about two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of rare earth minerals.
Rare earths a group of 17 elements crucial in the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines, hard drives, and military technologies are notoriously difficult to mine. The trial comes amid growing concern over China’s near monopoly in this critical sector. China currently controls nearly two-thirds of rare earth mining and 92 percent of global refined output, according to the International Energy Agency.
Earlier this week, Japan pledged to collaborate with the United States, India, and Australia to secure alternative supplies of these vital minerals.
The move also comes as deep-sea mining becomes an increasingly contested geopolitical issue. In April, Beijing introduced license requirements for exporting rare earths in what many view as a response to U.S. restrictions on Chinese imports.
Meanwhile, environmental groups have raised alarms about the ecological risks of ocean mining, warning it could damage fragile marine ecosystems and disrupt the ocean floor. The International Seabed Authority, which oversees mining in international waters, is expected to meet later this month to discuss regulations for deep-sea resource extraction.
