Urban mining for mobile gold

A NEW PHENOMENON CALLED "urban mining" is becoming popular in Japan as companies pick through electronics rubbish dumps to look for any gold, silver and copper, usually embedded in things like mobile phones, in order to cash in on the skyrocketing metal market.

As the world’s markets become more and more unstable, metals and other non virtual, material commodities have become increasingly popular with investors who would rather have a bullion of gold in the attic than a load of virtual volatile stock. Gold is currently going for an incredible $890 an ounce ($31,417 a kilo), after hitting a record high of $1,030.80 in March. Other metals like copper and tin are also hitting record highs with silver also well above trading averages.

Also, in a surprising study by Japanese recycling outfit Yokohama Metal, it turns out that whereas a tonne of gold ore from a mine produces approximately just 5 grams (0.18 ounce) of the yellow bling, a tonne of mobiles on a rubbish dump could contain up to 150 grams (5.3 ounce) of the shiny stuff. Not to mention the approximate 100 kg of copper, 3kg of silver and a whole host of other lucrative metals lying about.

Japanese companies have copped on to the fact that finding these metals and then melting them down is turning out to be rich pickings, as jewelers and electronics manufacturers fight each other off to get their hands on the recycled metals. Electronics manufacturers are increasingly using gold in mobile phone circuit boards, instead of the less-conductive copper.

Because Japan has almost no natural resources, the fact that its population devour and discard electronics quicker than the average western company can even make them is proving to be a huge boost to the Japanese electronics industry. According to Reuters, Japan's population of 128 million people use their mobiles for just two years and eight months before deeming them ready for the rubbish dump.

Memory chips, cables and other metal-rich rubbish go the same way. Apparently, even things as innocuous as printer ink cartridges can be mined for silver and palladium. Who’d have thought?

Well, Nozomu Yamanaka, the manager of a company called Eco-Systems, which recycles electronics, did think of it. He told Reuters, "to some it's just a mountain of garbage, but for others it's a gold mine".

Eco-System, based just outside Tokyo, melt between 200 and 300 kg of gold into bars every month. That’s up to $8.8 million worth from a load of old junk. Not bad at all. And apparently only 10-20 per cent of people even bother to throw out their old devices, many just opting to stick them in a cupboard somewhere instead.

So next time you’re in need of some spare cash, go down to your local rubbish skip and have a rummage. It could turn out to be a veritable gold mine. µ

L’Inq
Reuters