Japan’s quest for rare earths is about to plunge to unprecedented depths in what could be the most extreme trial extraction ever attempted, accelerating a push to lessen its reliance on overseas suppliers – but at what environmental cost?The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology plans to deploy a deep-sea drilling vessel to a site around 100km (54 nautical miles) from Minamitorishima, according to a report in the Nikkei newspaper dated July 1.The remote atoll is some 1,850km...