Overview
- Test operations are scheduled for Jan. 11 to Feb. 14 within Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Minamitori Island, about 1,900 kilometers southeast of Tokyo.
- The campaign will attempt the world’s first continuous lift of rare-earth-rich mud from roughly 6,000 meters to a surface vessel, with impacts monitored onboard and on the seabed.
- JAMSTEC’s research vessel Chikyu will deploy a long pipe and cylindrical excavator, using circulating water to carry sediment to the ship in a method designed to limit dispersal.
- No production target has been set; about ¥40 billion has been invested since 2018, and if the test succeeds a full-scale mining trial is planned for February 2027.
- Project leaders cite a mission to build a domestic rare earth supply chain and note concern after a Chinese naval fleet entered the area during earlier surveys on June 7.