China Drying Network News Japan is searching for rare earths from all over the world through various means. Japan has completely relied on China's procurement channels to diversify its acquisition of mineral rights and interests abroad. In the first half of this year, Japan’s share of rare earths imported from China was below 50% for the first time since 2000. The resource diplomacy of the Japanese government and private companies shows an important role.
The Japanese government and companies have been trying to disperse rare earths in order to get rid of their dependence on China and have been trying to acquire mineral rights in Vietnam and other regions, and have begun to achieve results. From January to June, 3007 tons of rare earths were imported from China. China’s rare earths accounted for 49.3% of total imports, which was below 50% for the first time. This proportion has accounted for about 90% until 2009.
Starting next year, the import of rare earth mines from Japanese companies will be fully started. Japanese companies hold rare earth mineral rights in four countries including Australia, Kazakhstan, India and Vietnam. The export volume to Japan at full load is expected to exceed 16500 tons per year.
Most of these rare earths are lanthanum and light rare earths such as lanthanum used for a powerful magnet. More than 20,000 tons of Japan's domestic demand for 6 to 8 percent will achieve stable purchases each year. Coupled with the part of Japan's domestic recycling, it is expected that within a few years, the Japanese government will be able to achieve the goal of "stable purchase rate of 50%."
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan stated that the next task is to "ensure that rare earths are rarer than light rare earths." Heavy rare earth lanthanum is used to improve the performance of electric vehicles and energy-saving appliance motors, and more than 90% of its purchases still depend on China.
Toyota Tsusho will work with local mining companies in Quebec, Canada to produce helium and other heavy rare earths. Northern Minerals, an Australian mining development company, plans to start exporting heavy rare earths in 2015. However, it will take some time before the export to Japan is on the track.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan started investigating last year a seabed rare earth mud deposit rich in heavy rare earth reserves. The plan is to sample from the sea mud surrounding the South Bird Island in Japan's exclusive economic waters (EEZ). However, huge costs are needed and private commercial exploitation is difficult.
Under such circumstances, Japanese companies are advancing technology to reduce the consumption of rare earth-based rare earths in magnet manufacturing processes. For example, Toshiba has developed magnets that use rare earth elements that are abundant in Australia and the United States without using thorium. The performance is the same as that of a traditional product containing ruthenium. Honda plans to reuse rare earths extracted from used nickel-metal hydride batteries during this year.
While the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is promoting resource diplomacy and ensuring the rights and interests of overseas rare earth minerals, it also supports technological development that minimizes the consumption of rare resources such as cesium. It is expected that the demand for plutonium in the Japanese market will be reduced to 300 tons per year after 2 years, which is equivalent to half of the current consumption.
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