Japan has a 400 or more year supply of rare earths, they just have to mine it from the sea floor.
These areas exist also in the US, but China is a convenient source.
They have known about for a number of years the rich rare earths around Japan.
Japan plans on beginning the extraction of rare earth metals from the region around Minamitorishima Island in 2024 as the country attempts to wean away from depending on China for critical resources. Work on developing extraction technologies for the endeavor will begin next year. The rare...
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Mud that is rich in rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) has several advantages like “high rare earth element content (especially the heavy rare-earth elements [HREE] from Eu to Lu), huge amounts, a paucity of radioactive elements (U and Th), and easy extraction and recovery. Therefore, the mud is expected to be viewed as a highly promising new mineral resource,” states a 2018
study published in Nature.
Eu refers to Europium, Lu to Lutetium, U to Uranium, and Th to Thorium. In 2013, REY-rich mud with deep-sea sediments containing 2,000 parts per million (ppm) to over 5,000 ppm was found in the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Minamitorishima Island.
The team calculated the REY content for the region to be in excess of 16 million tons of rare earth oxides and believes the area has the potential to supply certain rare earths on a “semi-infinite basis” to the world.
The region is estimated to be capable of supplying Yttrium for 780 years, Europium for 620 years, Terbium for 420 years, and Dysprosium for 730 years, the authors said.
