The Japanese government announced on Monday that they had successfully recovered rare-earth rich seabed mud from depths as deep as 6 km (4miles) during a test mission.

A Japanese drill ship left?on? January 12 for remote Minamitori Island in order to explore rare earth-rich mud deposit. This is part of Tokyo’s efforts to reduce its dependence on China as Beijing has cut off supply.

The Chikyu test vessel's month-long mission near Minamitori Island, located about 1,900 km (1200 miles) south of Tokyo, is the first time in the history of the world that mud containing rare earths has been continuously lifted from the seabed to a ship.

According to the national platform of the Cabinet Office for innovative ocean development, the vessel arrived at the site on January 17 and began recovery operations by January 30. On February 1, it confirmed that the first successful'retrieval' of rare-earth clay had been achieved.

Ayumi Yushimatsu, spokesperson for Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, which operates the vessel, confirmed that recovery operations were completed in three locations on Monday.

Yoshimatsu stated that the material recovered, including its volume, mineral content and other characteristics, will be analyzed after the ship returns to Shimizu Port in central Japan, on February 15.

It is thought that the mud contains dysprosium?and neodymium?used in electric vehicle motors?as well as gadolinium?and terbium?used in high-tech products?.

She added that "barring major issues, Japan intends to move forward with a full scale mining trial in February of 2027."

China banned last month exports to Japan of dual-use products that could be used as military equipment, including rare Earths, due to a diplomatic dispute.

TDK, a Japanese component manufacturer, said that China's export restrictions on rare Earths are affecting its business and it has taken steps to diversify their procurement sources. (Reporting and editing by Ros Russell)

(source: Reuters)