Japan’s rare earth discovery has boomed in to value to $30,600,000,000 despite Trump tariff chaos

A rare discovery in Japan last year has boomed in value to over $30,000,000,000, despite all the tariffs being introduced by Donald Trump in recent weeks.

In 2024, a survey conducted by the Nippon Foundation in collaboration with the University of Tokyo found that the seabed around Minami-Tori-shima island has around 610,000 metric tons of cobalt, and 740,000 metric tons of nickel.

The discovery was deemed so important because these sought-after materials are two of the crucial components needed to create electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

This is the equivalent to 11 years of domestic consumption, meaning Japan could have a rather large bank balance in the years to come.

230 million tons of the rare minerals were discovered between April and June, according to Nikkei Asia.

The manganese nodules discovered (The Nippon Foundation)

“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 a true sense of word,” a press release from the University of Tokyo stated.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January, he has introduced countless tariffs, a move that has ultimately seen the FTSE 100 plunge by a lowly six percent.

Last week, the 47th POTUS announced a 10 percent ‘baseline’ tax would apply globally, with higher rates for a 60-strong country list dubbed as Trump’s ‘worst offenders’.

Countries struck with high custom tariffs include the likes of Japan (24 percent), South Africa (30 percent), and Vietnam (46 percent).

Japan is an interesting one, considering the impact such tariffs could have on the discovery, but it seems Trump's measures have seen the rare earth discovery boom in value.

Prior to the changes implemented by the Trump administration, the rare discovery was valued at a massive $26,290,780,000 - a figure that has since increased.

Trump's tariffs have seemingly not impacted the value of the find (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

As per the FSTE 100, one ton worth of cobalt is worth $33,925, meaning the 610,000 tones discovered is now worth a whopping $20,694,250,000.

Nickel, on the other hand, comes in at $13,388 per ton, making a value of $9,907,120,000 from the 740,000 tons discovered.

In summary, you have a value of $30,601,370,000 for the rare earth discovery - a massive increase on figures recorded last year.

By using the cobalt and nickel from the ocean, Japan will be able to decrease its dependency on other countries and satiate the internal demand for EV batteries, according to Interesting Engineering.