Yokohama Marine Mining’s research division say it could be a massive find, one which could possibly be enough to supply to the world on a semi-infinite basis according to scientific reports.

Rare-earth metals are crucial in the making of high-tech products such as electric vehicles and batteries, and most of the world has relied on China for almost all of its needs.

Yokohama Marine Mining’s Chief Operations Officer commented on the discovery saying “Our area of interest sits roughly in a 965 square mile radius in the Pacific Ocean seabed near Minamitorishima Island, which is situated around 1,100 miles from Tokyo.”

“The seabed contains more than 16 million tons of rare-earth oxides, according to the study. This potential discovery could have the potential to supply these metals on a semi-infinite basis to the world and the deposits could pit Japan against China to potentially become the world’s largest producer of the materials”, added Yokohama Marine Mining’s Chief Operations Officer.

About Us - Yokohama Marine Mining

At Yokohama Marine Mining, we have a commitment to discover, develop and produce from rare earth mineral from locations throughout the Pacific Ocean.

Japan consumes more than 30,000 tons of rare earth metals every year. The Agency for Natural Resources & Energy in Japan have placed a significant emphasis on developing production of rare earth metals in the country. They have offered numerous development grants and exploration concessions.

We focus our exploration locations in the Pacific Ocean within 500km of the coast of the islands of Japan. Having undertaken exploration of over 100, we estimate that more than 100 billion tons of rare earth minerals are available in the sediment on the ocean floor.