200 million tons of rare metal rocks found in seabed off Japan island

Over 200 million tons of manganese nodules, seabed mineral concretions rich in rare metals, have been found densely packed in the deep sea off the coast of Japan's easternmost island within its exclusive economic zone, a Japanese survey team said Friday.The team involving the Nippon Foundation and the University of Tokyo plans to begin trial mining of the nodules found off Minamitori Island, which also contain significant quantities of cobalt and nickel, from 2025 with the aim of commercialization."These resources are crucial for economic security. We aim to lift 3 million tons annually, pr…READ FULL ARTICLE