SUSTAINABLE METALS PRODUCTION AND RECYCLING IN JAPAN: THE PRESENT AND ISSUES

摘要

It is said that the energy and resources crisis will come before long because the lifetime ofknown deposits of crude oil and common metals such as Pb, Zn, Cu is estimated to be less than50 years. Establishing the sustainable society by means of resources-recycling has become anabsolute necessity.The non-ferrous metals industry in Japan has been involved in the resource- recycling businessfor many years, along with the introduction and enforcement of various legislations to preservethe environment and natural resources. Including process-linkage during various manufacturingactivities, the non-ferrous metals industry, the iron-making and cement industries are treatingconsiderable amounts of recycled materials and wastes, in an environmentally-sound andeconomic manner.The Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan has submitted "The present and issues inJapanese non-ferrous metals and recycling industries."The topic of the paper is to highlight the actual conditions within the resources-recyclingstructures and the present issues.