AMPO Technology reaches 6.000 meters depth in Japan’s grounbreaking rare earth extraction trial

AMPO POYAM VALVES has successfully designed and supplied highly engineered and innovative subsea valve solutions for Japan’s latest deep sea rare earth extraction initiative—an ambitious project now making global headlines for operating at nearly 6,000 meters below sea level. The system, integrated into a Strategic Innovation Program (SIP) module developed by NuStar Technologies for JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology), has passed its qualification tests at full operational depth, marking a major milestone in deep-sea mining technology. The Japan Agency for Marine Earth Science and Technology has highlighted this test as a world first at such depths.
Over the past years, AMPO has collaborated closely with NuStar and JAMSTEC in developing the valves for the mining system that will descend to 6,000 meters, supporting the country’s strategic drive for critical minerals. As part of this partnership, AMPO POYAM VALVES designed and manufactured the specialized valves that are currently part of the subsea pumping station and two years after delivery, AMPO also performed a full refurbishment of the valves, bringing them back to Spain to replace the trim and requalify the entire units before the final 6,000-meter trials. Earlier development phases successfully reached 4,400 meters, and the final test campaign—recently completed at 6,000 meters—achieved highly positive results. Following this success, Japan has announced that production is expected to begin in 2027.
The module—now deployed in Japan’s pioneering deep sea retrieval mission—incorporates three AMPO POYAM valves, engineered specifically to withstand extreme pressure, corrosive environments, and continuous heavy duty operation under ultradeep water conditions.