Urban Mining

摘要

In Japan, where mineral resources are scarce, the idea of "urban mining" has attracted attention, whereby metals are recycled from discarded home appliances and suchlike to obtain rare metals that are critical for industrial products.rnUrban mining refers to the concept of recycling that attempts to recycle rare metals and other useful resources, extracting concentrattes(ore equivalents)from discarded home aooliances piled up in urban areas. The idea was first advocated by Professor Michio Nanjo of Tohoku University Mineral Ore Dressing and Smelting Institute in the 1980s. In recent years, the surge in the prices of rare metals and other factors has led to the implementation of measures to recover resources from electronic substrates of discarded mobile phones and personal computers. This has led to the reappraisal of the concept of urban mining.