Current Status of Japan's Activities for Deep-Sea Commercial Mining Campaign

Abstract

In Japan, the Basic Act on Ocean Policy provided a basic outline of matter regarding the ocean and was promulgated in July 2007. Following on from the Act, the Cabinet introduced the “Basic Plan on Ocean Policy”, to promote measures concerning the ocean both in general and in detail. In particular, this legislation clearly defines the plan for the commercialization of seafloor polymetallic sulphides that had not yet done so. After that, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) introduced a roadmap for commercializing the sulphides based on the Basic Plan. Based on the roadmap, JOGMEC started the survey program for seafloor polymetallic sulphides in the EEZ of Japan, and launched its R&D program on the mining system and the processing and metallurgical technologies, as well as an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in 2008. Regarding R&D of the mining system, JOGMEC and certain Japanese mining and machinery companies have developed two types of state of the art, small-scale seabed excavating and collecting tools. Sea trials using their tools have been conducted in hydrothermal fields at a depth of 1600m in the Okinawa trough at the EEZ of Japan since 2012. From late August to late September of 2017, the world's first ore-lifting pilot test for polymetallic sulphides was conducted with great success under the sea near Okinawa Island.