JAPAN WINS LEGAL RIGHTS TO SEARCH FOR RARE METALS ON HIGH SEAS

JAPAN WINS LEGAL RIGHTS TO SEARCH FOR RARE METALS ON HIGH SEAS

July 23, 2013, The Yomiuri Shimbun

Japan has obtained exclusive mineral exploration rights for rare metals and other resources on the seabed about 600 kilometers southeast of Tokyo’s Minami-Torishima island.

It is the first time in 26 years that Japan has obtained mineral exploration rights on the high seas.

In an announcement Saturday, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said it would begin full-fledged exploration next fiscal year at the earliest.

To obtain exclusive exporation rights, a nation must first gain the approval of the United Nations’ International Seabed Authority. The U.N. authority gave its approval Friday, and the government is expected to sign a 15-year contract by the end of this fiscal year.

Experts believe that the seabed in and around the areas where Japan obtained the rights contain such rare metals as manganese, cobalt, nickel and platinum, which Japan must import. It is possible that the exploration rights will lead to Japan securing resources and relying less on imports.

Since 1987, the Japanese government has conducted preliminary research on seabed resources in the area where it obtained the exploration rights. In July last year, the government asked the U.N. authority to give Japan permission to seek mineral resources over a 3,000-square-kilometer area in the Pacific Ocean.

The government will entrust the research work to the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (JOGMEC), an independent administrative institution. Next fiscal year, JOGMEC is expected to dispatch its research vessel Hakurei to investigate the quantity of mineral resources in the area and other details.

Experts believe there are cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the seabed at depth of 1,000 to 2,000 meters from the sea surface in areas around Minami-Torishima. Abundant rare metals are believed to be a few centimeters to several tens of centimeters thick within this layer.

The government has already begun full-fledged research in an exclusive economic zone around the Minami-Torishima.

As Japan has few resources, the government has also conducted feasibilty studies on mineral resources in the EEZ off Okinawa Prefecture and the Ogasawara Islands.