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Japan is sitting on a gold mine. Not exactly gold, but some Earth minerals that can keep its economy running for the next 10 years have been found deep in the ocean.

Worth $26,290,780,000, it's a field of dense manganese nodules and contains millions of metric tonnes of cobalt and nickel, Unilad reported.

The Nippon Foundation and the University of Tokyo carried out a survey during which they stumbled upon the manganese field on the seabed of Minami-Tori-shima island.

The nodules sit 5,700 meters below sea level and can help Japan sustain for years to come.

According to Nikkei Asia, these minerals were formed over millions of years.

Fish bones carried these metals to the region where they stuck to the seabed, resulting in the creation of these minerals.

There is also copper under there, also a valuable item.

Cobalt and nickel are precious minerals that are used for various technological components.

They are used to create electric vehicle (EV) batteries, besides jet engines, and gas turbines and also in chemical processing.

The team found a staggering amount of cobalt and nickel, which translated to a lot of money.

As per market figures from Trading Economics, one metric tonne of cobalt is currently worth $24,300 while nickel is worth $15,497.

The find includes 610,000 metric tonnes of cobalt and 740,000 metric tonnes of nickel.

This means 610,000 metric tonnes of cobalt is worth $14,823,000,000 while nickel is worth $11,467,780,000. It adds up to a total of $26,290,780,000.

Minerals stuck around Megalodon teeth
The first time these minerals were spotted was in 2016. The horde has since grown, as spotted by the recent survey.

Experts say that more of them have formed around the teeth of a prehistoric shark, the Megalodon.

Yasuhiro Kato, a professor at the University of Tokyo, has revealed plans for the minerals.

While the aim is to take the minerals out of the sea, he says it needs to be done in a manner that "minimises the impact on the marine environment".

So, "three million tonnes" of it will be extracted from the deposits every year.

A press release from the University of Tokyo reads, “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’."

The process will start in 2025 and will involve the use of overseas mining vessels.