Japan discovers $26 billion worth of cobalt, nickel beneath sea

Scientists have uncovered vast deposits of valuable minerals beneath the ocean floor, potentially securing the country's economic future for decades in a groundbreaking discovery off the coast of Japan.

Earth minerals are worth $26.29 billion. A survey conducted by The Nippon Foundation and the University of Tokyo revealed a dense field of manganese nodules located on the seabed near Minami-Tori-shima island, roughly 1,200 miles from Japan's capital. These nodules, sitting 5,700 meters beneath the surface, are rich in cobalt and nickel, two essential materials for the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, jet engines, gas turbines, and chemical processing, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The nodules were believed to have formed over millions of years as oceanic metals attached to fish bones and settled on the ocean floor, according to Nikkei Asia. The survey uncovered around 610,000 metric tons of cobalt and 740,000 metric tons of nickel, which represent a significant financial windfall.

At current market rates—$24,300 per metric ton for cobalt and $15,497 per metric ton for nickel—this amounts to approximately $14.82 billion for the cobalt and $11.47 billion for the nickel, bringing the total value of the discovery to an eye-popping $26.29 billion. While these figures are based on current market prices, it’s important to note that commodity values can fluctuate, meaning these minerals could be worth even more—or less—depending on market dynamics, including the demand for EV batteries and energy storage technologies. 

Between April and May of this year, a team surveying 100 seabed locations using remotely operated underwater vehicles discovered approximately 230 million tons of rare minerals. These deposits are believed to also contain copper, another highly valuable element. The manganese nodules, first identified in a 2016 survey, were initially linked to prehistoric sharks, with some believed to have formed around the teeth of the Megalodon. 

Following the latest survey, Yasuhiro Kato, a professor of resource geology at the University of Tokyo, revealed plans for excavators to extract "three million tons annually" from these deposits. He emphasized that this approach would allow the development to proceed while "minimizing the impact on the marine environment." To carry out the extraction, the team intends to use overseas mining vessels, aiming to lift several thousand tons of nodules per day starting in 2025. 

By tapping into the cobalt and nickel found in the ocean, Japan hopes to reduce its reliance on foreign sources and meet the growing domestic demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, as reported by Interesting Engineering. In a press release, the University of Tokyo stated, "Ultimately, we expect that our research outcomes will help boost Japan’s growth by establishing a domestic supply chain stretching from ‘resource-mining’ to ‘manufacturing’, and make Japan a science-technology, and ocean-oriented nation in the true sense of the word."

By Naila Huseynova