TOKYO: Japan yesterday said it had won the rights to explore for cobalt-rich crusts in the Pacific, a move that could reduce its dependence on China for rare metals.
A government press release said the International Seabed Authority (ISA) had approved Japan’s plan to probe a 3,000-square-kilometre area beneath international waters off the isolated Japanese coral atoll of Minamitorishima. The area is located 600km off the atoll which lies 1,850km south of Tokyo.
The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation, acting on the government’s behalf, is due to sign a formal contract with the ISA covering 15 years of exploration rights, the statement said.
Cobalt-rich crusts are presumed to cover the seabed between 1,000 and 2,000 metres down, containing such rare metals as manganese, cobalt, nickel and platinum, according to the statement.
Resources-poor Japan needs the metals for its high-tech components, including lithium-ion batteries and automobile engines. China, the world’s leading supplier of rare metals and rare earths, has used its position as diplomatic leverage at a time when it is locked in a row with Japan over Tokyo-controlled islands in the East China Sea. AFP
