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Researchers have discovered a vein of about 230 million tonnes of minerals vital for making electric vehicle batteries on the ocean floor of a remote island about 1,200 miles off the coast of Tokyo.
The manganese nodules buried 5,000 meters below sea level contain enough cobalt to supply Japan for about 75 years.
According to a press release from the Nippon Foundation, which conducted the study in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, the study also included more than 10 years of the country’s annual nickel consumption.
Both minerals are key components in electric vehicle batteries, and the shift to EVs has sparked a global race to secure sources of the precious metals. Nikkei were the first to report this discovery.
The seafloor around Minamitorishima contains about 610,000 tonnes of cobalt and 740,000 tonnes of nickel, the researchers told Nikkei.
They will begin scouting the area with mining equipment and a remotely operated underwater vehicle earlier this year, and plan to start extracting the first minerals in 2025.
Despite being a major automobile manufacturer, Japan is lagging behind many of its global rivals in the race to develop electric vehicles.
just 2.2% of new passenger cars According to data from an industry group, 70% of cars sold in Japan in 2023 will be electric, compared with 25% in EV pioneer China.
The discovery of huge reserves of nickel, cobalt and manganese will raise hopes that the situation will soon change.
Commercial-scale mining is scheduled to begin in 2026, but it is not without its challenges. Expensive and technically challengingNorway has faced opposition from environmentalists over its often controversial deep-sea mining plans.
But the rewards are probably worth it. Demand for nickel and cobalt is is expected to rise sharply in the coming decadesA White House report predicts demand will increase by 400 to 600 percent as battery-powered technology displaces oil and gas.
For other materials such as lithium and graphite used in EV batteries, the increase could be as much as 4,000%, according to U.S. government figures.
Many of these metals are currently sourced from countries such as Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where some workers Abuse, low wages,and High risk of accidents.