Japanese Deep-Sea Mining Expedition Updates

In the first week of February 2026, the Japanese government reported that it had successfully carried out the retrieval of deep-sea mud samples that could be key to unlocking access to rare-earth metals like yttrium, europium, terbium, and dysprosium in quantities sufficient to satisfy supply chain needs for decades.

The expedition took place in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) about 1,900 km southeast of Tokyo in ultra-deep waters off Minamitori Island. Researchers utilized the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) Drilling Vessel (DV) Chikyu, to collect seabed mud samples from a depth of about 5,700 m.

The DV Chikyu is a highly capable vessel and is notable the only drilling vessel in the world that can drill up to 7,000 m below the seafloor. Since the early 2000s, the vessel has been used for collaborative research expeditions to solve unknown questions about the Earth’s mantle, earthquakes, and more.

In 2025, Japan announced its intention to ramp up its search for rare-earth metals from the deep sea, a direct response to China’s decrease and tightening of export controls of rare-earth metals critical to the manufacturing glass, magnets, batteries, lights, and more.

Post successful trials, the plans are to carry out a full-scale deep-sea mining trial in 2027."Source:Oceannews.com"