Minami-Torishima island

Disclaimer: Copyright infringement is not intended.

Context:

• Researchers have found around 230 million metric tons of minerals crucial to making electric car batteries on the seabed off a remote island around 1,200 miles from Tokyo.

Details:

• The seabed around Minami-Torishima island contains around 610,000 metric tons of cobalt and 740,000 metric tons of nickel.
• The cache of manganese nodules lying 5,000 meters below the ocean surface contains enough cobalt to supply Japan for around 75 years.
• It also contains more than a decade's worth of the country's annual nickel consumption
• Both minerals are crucial components of electric vehicle batteries, and the transition to EVs has sparked a global race to secure sources of the precious metals.

Minami-Torishima island

• Also known as Marcus Island, is an isolated Japanese coral atoll in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, located some 1,848 km (998 nmi; 1,148 mi) southeast of Tokyo.
• The shape of the island is close to an equilateral triangle.
• It's formed by a raised coral reef, which is about 2 km on each side and 6 km around.
• It is located in the transitional zone between tropical and subtropical climates and it has an oceanic climate with an average annual temperature of around 25.6 °C.
• The exclusive economic zone based on the baseline of the Minami torishima Island is some 430,000 km2, larger than Japan’s land area.

Source:

https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/japan-found-enough-minerals-off-a-remote-pacific-island-to-fuel-its-ev-plans-for-over-a-decade/articleshow/111264533.cms

PRACTICE QUESTION Q)  Why was “Minami-Torishima island” in news recently? A)Researchers have found around 230 million metric tons of minerals crucial to making electric car batteries on the seabed off of this remote island around 1,200 miles from Tokyo. B)It is a flashpoint of conflict between the US and China in the South China Sea. C)It is a disputed island between the Philippines and China in South China Sea. D)Here, North Korea recently tested an ICBM. Answer: A)