UrbMinSys PDF

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN
APPLIED SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
Takashi Nakamura
Kohmei Halada
Urban Mining
Systems
123
SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences
and Technology
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8884
Takashi Nakamura Kohmei Halada
Urban Mining Systems
13
Takashi Nakamura Kohmei Halada
Tohoku University National Institute for Materials Science
Sendai Tsukuba
Miyagi Japan
Japan
ISSN 2191-530X ISSN 2191-5318 (electronic)

ISBN 978-4-431-55074-7 ISBN 978-4-431-55075-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55075-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014945263
Springer Tokyo Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
The Author(s) 2015

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Preface
Mass production systems for large-scale consumption will change due to global
warming (climate change), diffusion of harmful wastes, and depletion of resources
(especially energy resources). Nevertheless, the present period can be called the
most active in terms of material production and consumption in the history of
humans, although there are great differences in these activities depending on the
part of the world. The essence of the environmental problem now being faced is
a result of (1) the growth and diversification of production activity to maintain a
comfortable human lifestyle and (2) the discharge of too much untreated waste.
However, it is difficult to evaluate the ability of the earth to clean itself up scien-
tifically, and it is also difficult to rapidly change our present lifestyle.
Establishment of a sound circulatory society involves not only recycling
materials, but includes the 3Rs (reuse, reduce, recycle) as well as the prevention
of the dispersal of harmful substances, and perhaps the primary issue is prevention
of global warming. The concept of a circulatory society includes no decrease in
conventional production volumes (yield), but more energy conservation than ever
before, effective use of natural resources, and no output of waste. Currently, we
are at the stage where reviews are being conducted on what kind of circulatory
society should be created and what the stance of industry should be in order to
achieve it. In Japan, under the Basic Environment Law to Promote Formation of a
Circulatory Society, specific recycling acts were established, and the so-called 3Rs
were promoted as part of national policy.
The 3Rs and waste treatments are a growing area in metal production indus-
tries. There is no doubt they take up the major part of the field. Also, more col-
laboration between different research fields is necessary in order to make progress.
This is indeed a paradigm shift. With this background, urban mining becomes
an important concept to achieve a sound circulatory society. In the past, man has
created arts and crafts that contain various metals. Deposits of some metals in end-
of-life products will eventually become larger than those of natural r esources, and
then recovery of those metals from urban mines will be economically feasible.
We believe this short book can generate enthusiasm in this field throughout the
world.
v
vi Preface
We would like to express our gratitude to all our colleagues involved in this
work. Especially one of author, Takashi Nakamura, gives great thanks to Professor
Toshikazu Shiratori, Tohoku University and Shoji Owada, Waseda University for
thier useful discussions and contributions to prepare some figures. We also want
to acknowledge that this publication was supported in part by the High-Efficiency
Rare Elements Extraction Technology Area, Tohoku Innovative Materials
Technology Initiatives for Reconstruction.
Contents
1 Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Potential of Urban Mine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 World Potential. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2.1 Estimated Potential. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2.2 Practical Potential. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.3 Domestic Potential of Urban Mining in the Case of Japan . . . . . . . . 18
2.3.1 Flow Estimation Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.3.2 Domestic Stock Estimation Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.3.3 Domestic Stock Estimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.3.4 Comparing with Activities in Japan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.4 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3 Development of Urban Mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

3.1 Social System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1.1 General Economic Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2 Technologies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2.1 Analogy of Natural Ore Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.2.2 Physical Separation Techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2.3 Smelting and Extraction Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.2.4 Accompany Metals in Non-ferrous Smelters. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4 Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
vii
Chapter 1
Introduction
AbstractHuman beings live in the circumstances which are mainly consist of

artificial products including many metallic products. So, we are living in natural
environment with artificial circumstances. We cant return to old historical lives.
3R (Reduce, Reuse and Recycling) of artificial waste which cant retuned to orig-
inal state by themselves. 3R can reduce the consumption the primary resources,
save energy and control of diffusion of harmful elements to nature, if they have
done on the right way. This introduction showed what is Urban Mining, why
we need it and how to develop it. A new further concept, Artificial Deposits was
introduced in this short booklet to realize the urban mine development.
Keywords Urban mining ReduceReuseRecycle Artificial deposits
What are the most serious environmental issues in this century? There are, of
course, several answers, depending on personality. Global warming or climate
change is a typical answer, which has almost the same meaning as energy sup-
ply. There has been much debate around this problem. The leading CO2 emitters,
the United States followed by China, are countries that do not agree and continue
to debate this serious issue. Various initiatives have been started to turn the con-
cepts such as Factor 10 [1] and Sound-Circulatory society into reality, but there
remains a significant gap between the concepts and actual acts and effects. The
reason is that we have been unable to achieve a mutual understandings of these
global problems in time and space.
Another answer regards the supply of resources like food and water. This is also
essential to maintain life. I would like to add one more item, which is a sustain-
able supply of mineral resources. This is because most humans live together with
artificially made products, including numerous metallic ones. Thus, we are living
in a natural environment, but also with artificial products, for instance our house are
built by woods, stone, concrete and steel. We cannot return to old ways of living.
How can we achieve harmonious coexistence between sustaining the environment
and promoting economic growth, which are often in a trade-off relationship? For
The Author(s) 2015 1

T. Nakamura and K. Halada, Urban Mining Systems, SpringerBriefs in Applied
Sciences and Technology, DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55075-4_1
2 1Introduction
Trade off
For example: CO, Nox, SPM
from flue gas of cars Catalyzer Filter
Impact from using energy (emission of CO2)

Impact from hazardous emissions
To Win-Win
from Trade off
Consumption of energy for waste treatment
Fig.1.1Tradeoff relation between impact from hazardous emissions and energy usage
instance, Fig.1.1 shows a typical relationship between impacts from the diffusion of
hazardous substances and those from energy consumption (CO2 emissions). Platinum
group metal (PGM) catalysts are normally used to clean exhaust gas from vehicles,
which eliminates NOx, CO and suspended particulate matter (SPM) in exhaust gas.
PGM content is less than 5ppm in primary resources, and tremendous amounts of
energy are consumed in their extraction from ore. The ecological rucksack of PGM
ore is also huge. One countermeasure for maintaining a sustainable supply of PGMs
is the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) for waste that cannot return to its original
state by itself. The 3Rs, correctly practiced, can reduce consumption of primary
resources, save energy. and control the diffusion of harmful elements into nature.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has a strong interest in this
matter, and suggests de-coupling between economic development and resource con-
sumption, as shown in Fig.1.2 [2]. The agency has reported on metals recycling to
achieve high resource efficiency [2].
The issues faced in tackling environmental problems, and those in the stable
supply of metal resources (the theme of this article), are remarkably similar. The
sharp price increases of energy and mineral resources are greatly affecting the
state of manufacturing industries. Extraction of resources can damage the environ-
ment and, if we consider resource problems from a different angle, they are in fact
environmental problems.
Metallurgy is as old as mankind. Native gold and silver were worked very
early and easily indeed. In archeology, the terms Bronze and Iron Age charac-
terize early, even prehistoric stages of human technical development. Yet, actual
1Introduction 3
Fig.1.2General concept of decoupling between economic activity, resource use and environ-
mental impact
large-scale mining, moving, and milling enormous masses of ores and extracting
their metals by beneficiation and smelting of ores or by hydrometallurgical extrac-
tion sustained striking developments until the twentieth century. The last major
metal to be developed was aluminum of which production is very energy consum-
able. Before electrolytic processes were developed, aluminum was more expensive
even than gold! Today, the production and markets of base metals, such as iron,
steel, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, nickel, tin, and their alloys are regarded con-
ventional and well-established. These metals have been provided to the world mar-
kets on a basis of global production, highly competitive pricing, as well as a rising
attention for developing higher added-value or even niche markets.
First, let us consider the economics of cyclical usage. We do not have a suf-
ficient recycling ratio for minor metals, even those with high prices. The recycling
ratios for minor rare metals and some non-ferrous metals, all of which are rela-
tively expensive, have not always been high. The reason is partly that it is difficult
to collect scrap from in-use markets, and that scrap containing unstable impurities
is hardly used in mass-production processes.
Since the industrial revolution in the 18th century, humans have not been able
to only control energy sources such as labor, animal power, water and wind, but
also larger sources such as steam engines, combustion engines, electric motors
and nuclear power. The industrial revolution encouraged the scaling up of equip-
ment and development of efficient production techniques, and established the mass
production methods in use today. We are able to produce enough food to support
a large population and to lead a fulfilling lifestyle that only the nobility could
achieve in earlier epochs. Therefore, the statement that extensive mass production
results in large-scale pollution, an argument often used in environmental debate,
is incorrect; the assertion should really be that over-production results in such
pollution.
4 1Introduction
Table1.1Natural and artificial resources

Characteristics Natural resources Man-made resources
Amount Enough, some of them have to Insufficient, however, increase
consider depletion recently
Existence form Natural ores, most of them can be Scrap or waste, high cost of
extracted effectively by large scale collection
process
Content Low High
Impurity Relatively high but constant Relatively low but low stability
Cost of Low High
extraction
The current state of natural resources supports our modern techniques and mass
production system. It is difficult to give a general definition of natural resources,
but mineral resources can be defined as follows. Minerals rich in target components
used as resources and deposits that contain even high- level impurities can be good
resources, if these impurities are constant and sufficient amounts of target minerals
are found in one place. There are two characteristics required; one is a rich com-
position of target elements and the other is sufficient amounts for development as
a good resource. Both are equally important. However, it is the latter, a sufficient
amount at only a single location, that makes mass production possible. The aver-
age purity of copper ore is now less 1% and sometimes near 0.5%. This is by no
means a high purity but it is presently adequate, since we have effective methods
to upgrade it. This is done via a flotation process that readily upgrades sulfide ore.
However, this technique requires impurities to be at a constant level throughout
the mineral. Having minerals with consistent impurities allows the ore to be put
through a mass production process. If impurities are not consistent in the raw mate-
rials, then we must change the process for each resource. This is impossible within
the metal production industry. Thus, even if a high-concentration ore exists, it is
worthless as a resource if impurity of the ore is inconsistent. These points are sum-
marized for both natural and artificial resources in Table1.1. The average grade of
artificial resources is superior, but these are inferior to natural resources in that they
are not concentrated in particular locations (thus are difficult to collect), and their
grades vary (impurities are not consistent). These points cannot be applied to mass
production. Recycling is often considered to make economic sense, but our current
recycling does not target only items that are economically feasible.
One way of solving the above problems is to first reserve, then stockpile and
create future stocks of byproducts and waste products. This is because of the pos-
sibility that these items will one day be viewed as natural resources, even though
they may not be considered so presently. We call these reserving and managing
activities an artificial deposit [3]. Artificial deposits are storage sites for items mid-
way through the process of becoming natural resources.
This article explains the effect of E-waste treatments on environmental issues,
from the viewpoint of metallic resources.
1Introduction 5
Natural Urban
Resources Materials
Primary
Resource Disposal
Production
Recovery
Primary
Materials Valuables Waste
Secondary Collection
Production
Scraps
Secondary Spent
Materials Materials
New Material Use

Production
New Materials
Fig.1.3Supply chain of resources
An important means for elevating sustainability to higher levels is the 3Rs, and
these should receive highest priority. In an economic sense, recycling is regulated
by either law or self-action. If this is economically sensible then there are no prob-
lems. However, an effective social system that includes laws, is necessary if dif-
ferences between resources and waste products are unclear. End-of-life products
become sometimes waste or good resources, even with the same compositions.
Professor Hideo Nanjo of the Research Institute of Mineral Dressing and
Metallurgy at Tohoku University (a forerunner of the current Institute of
Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials) made the following comment
in 1988 in the journal Bulletin of the Research Institute for Mineral Dressing and
Metallurgy at Tohoku University: A key to the steady supply of minor rare metal,
a scarce resource, is establishment of a system of recycling scraps gathered both
domestically and overseas in international cooperation with different countries that
produce primary resources [4]. Professor Nanjo was predicting present conditions
exactly. Further, he accurately stated that Minor rare metals are extremely impor-
tant for maintaining the high-tech industry and if their supply dried up it would
spell the downfall of Japanese industry. This could be stated about the present
day, without modification.
Nanjo proposed a resource recycling chain as shown in Fig.1.3. This shows a
circular supply chain presently under discussion, with items flowing from arteries
to veins in a cycle. When that paper was published, most people did not recognize
the importance of the proposals therein, since the oil crisis had begun and prices
6 1Introduction
had not risen to peak levels yet. However, those ideas have been passed to us, and
we again proposed a new concept of artificial deposit [3]. Since rich deposits
should be existed in good mines, we need rich deposits for mining operations.
References
1. Schmidt-Bleek F (1999) Factor 10 club: reports 1999. Factor 10: making sustainability
accountableputting resource productivity into Praxis
2. Metal recycling. Report of the global metal flows working group of the international resource
panel of UNEP (2013)
3. Shiratori T, Nakamura T (2006) J MMIJ 122:325329 (in Japanese)
4. Nanjyo M (1988) Bull Res Inst Min Dress Met, Tohoku University, 43:239243 (in Japanese)
Chapter 2
Potential of Urban Mine
Abstract The potential of urban mining is getting greater. From the global view,
the potential of urban mining, namely the estimated amount of on-surface stock
which has been mine form the geo-sphere into the techno-sphere, is comparative
to natural resource which is still in geo-sphere as underground stock. However,
practical recycling of metals are still in the stage of developing, and depending on
the country. As an example, ultimate potential of urban mine in Japan was esti-
mated. The differences between input of each metal contents and output of it were
considered to be accumulated. I/O method was combined to estimate the metal
contents in exported products. Japan, which is considered a typical exporter of
materials, has great potential of urban mining which comes from domestic demand
of products. However, real activity of development of urban mine, namely recy-
cling, is not so effective, especially for minor metals which sometime called rare
metals from the viewpoint of the importance in industries. We need to develop the
technology and system for urban mining, just now.
KeywordsConsumption of metalsOn-surface stockRecycling rateLife-

cycle End-of life flow Accumulation of metals
2.1Background
The urgency of resolving resource issues such as recycling is growing daily. As

Halada et al. [1] pointed out, it is estimated that the consumption of metals will be
several times higher than the present metal reserves until the year 2050. Estimated
cumulative consumption at 2050 was compared with the present reserves, as
shown in Fig.2.1. The downward-extending bars in the figure represents todays
reserves. The upper bars indicate the reserve base when reserves are set at one.
When an upward-extending bar graph crosses the line of one, it signifies that the
amount of current reserves has been depleted; when it passes a bar, it means that
even the current reserve base has been depleted. Demand is estimated to exceed

8 2 Potential of Urban Mine
Fig.2.1The relation of the

accumulation demand and
existing reserves by 2050
reserve bases for metals such as gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, tin, antimony, and
indium. In addition, this expectation assumes almost no increase in demand for
high-functional rare metals for IT and eco-innovation. Regarding metals for which
mines have been developed and exploration is being undertaken on a global scale,
dramatic technological innovations like those which were made up to the 20th cen-
tury are needed to make extremely effective device designs and material designs to
match consumption and utilization patterns. The bars which extend down below
is the amount of each metal which has already mined. As the amounts of already
mined are greater than the amount of reserves in a plenty kinds of metals, the role
of recycling is important to reduce the resource issue.
As early as the 1980s, Nanjo [2] noted that the contents of rare earth metals
contained in industrial products often exceeded the grades found in raw ores, and
they were in the form of refined metals in many cases, so that their reuse did not
require the massive amount of energy needed to smelt and refine crude ores. Nanjo
called areas of industrial products concentrated on the surface urban mines.
Around the same time, Nishiyama [3] pointed out that for many metal resources,
the amounts that had already been mined exceeded the known reserves. The notion
of urban mines has continued since that time, and has recently been developed
into the artificial deposit concept of Shiratori and Nakamura [4]. Companies and
local governments, among others, have started to take an interest in this.
What is the amount of resources can be recycled by opening urban mines?
The truth is, this question has not really been addressed. In the case of iron and
steel, Japan Ferrous Raw Materials Association, among others, has estimated
the amount that has been accumulated, and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National
Corporation (JOGMEC) [5] and the Metal Economics Research Institute of Japan
[7] have been preparing information about material flow, but the total amount has
not been satisfactorily investigated. Japan has amassed a large amount of resources
from overseas and exported some of them in the form of manufactured products.
This is one of the main factors that make it difficult to determine the percentage of
resources that have stayed in the country. In the case of steel for automobiles, for
2.1Background 9
which product and material have a one-to-one relation, it is possible to estimate the
amount of steel exported in automobiles by making simple assumptions. However,
estimates are difficult in the case of electronic devices which contain trace amounts
of metals such as gold that are used in various applications.
2.2World Potential
2.2.1Estimated Potential
We have two different types of stocks of metal. One is the primary stock which is
still under the ground to be mined. This can be called as underground stock. The
other stock is the secondary stock, which has been mined already and accumulated
as products or waste in the humans techno-sphere. The secondary stock is called
as on surface stock. The basic potential of urban miming is estimating the sec-
ondary stock as the global cumulative volume which has been mined.
When calculating the global cumulative volume, there is no need to consider
trade since there are no national boundaries to be considered, so it is easier to cal-
culate than the cumulative volume for individual countries. However, when dis-
cussing cumulative amounts, certain issues come up such as natural limits, flow
limits, and the definition of assets. Natural limits involve ways of dealing with
materials that are buried, or corrode over time. Flow limits involve using an under-
standing of annual statistics to deal with double counts, etc., that occur during
processing and recycling. Asset definitions involve issues that arise from legal
aspects such as fixed assets, useable life, patterns of ownership, and so on. These
concepts are still being widely debated, and a standard theory has not yet been
established.
In order to avoid such confusion and to emphasize an initial understanding of
the rough estimate, this paper treats all resources that are extracted and brought
to the surface as cumulative volume. Thus they are treated in an integrated man-
ner without regard to flow or asset definition, and this even includes items on the
surface for which management or ownership rights have been lost. In other words,
even junk items are considered to be part of the cumulative total. This paper
also takes the view that corroded and oxidized items form part of the oxidized
resources, in that same way that oxide ores do. Furthermore, items buried in land-
fills are considered to exist far closer to the ground surface than do underground
resources. In order to avoid confusion that might arise from the discussions about
the various types of accumulation, it was decided to call this the broadly defined
cumulative volume. In other words, the broadly defined cumulative volume cor-
responds to the amount of material that has been taken into the human economic
sphere.
One more point that should be considered is how to deal with intermediate and
recycled goods. Because these are goods that are being used, or have been used,
it is easy to consider accumulation based on the amount used. However, there
are metals that are immediately recycled from used scrap. By using the amount
used as a base, recycled volume should be subtracted from the scrap volume.
In addition, when using data such as industrial statistics, it should be noted that
there exist intermediate products such as semi-processed materials which form
intermediate demand. Because the amount linked to accumulation is the final
demand, if the intermediate demand is added to this total, it results in a double
count. However, most industrial statistics contain data arranged from the pro-
duction side; the separation of intermediate demand from final demand requires
specialized knowledge of the current condition of industries, which is difficult to
obtain merely from numerical statistics. However, there is a simple solution to
both of these problems, which is to know the amount of resources that have been
excavated instead. If we consider the generalized cumulative amount mentioned
earlier, even if it is complicated within a system, if recycling is included several
times, then the amount of material taken into the system will nothing more than
the sum total of the amount of inputted material. In other words, if we use data on
the amount of metals that have been extracted over the years, we can calculate the
broadly defined cumulative amount by collecting the relevant data.
Data on the amount of extracted metals is compiled into metal statistics, min-
eral yearbooks by such organizations as the US Geological Survey [8]. These data
are further simplified into a database format in the form of the Sekai Koubutu
Shigen Databook (World Mineral Resource Databook) edited by MMIJ [9]
in Japan. This handbook was used as a base for the calculations, and data from
missing years were obtained from other references. In addition, it is necessary to
retrace the long history of conventional cumulative data, which include some data
that have been estimated based on old data books. However, metals production
dramatically increased after World War II, and the way that the data have been
compiled since then is better, so the cumulative amount of extracted metal was
calculated for the period since the end of the war. It should be noted that these data
are in better condition and that old data are lacking for some years, so those miss-
ing data were interpolated based on the previous and following years; if that was
not possible, then the data were extrapolated.
Figure2.2ac shows the results for each metal. Figure2.2a shows high ratios
of cumulative amounts for metals with large markets. The bright areas in the
figure show on-surface stock (a broadly defined cumulative amount) that have
already been excavated and brought into the economic sphere, while the dark area
shows underground stock as reserves of natural resources. The percentage is the
ratio of on-surface stock to the total amount of both stocks. In the group shown
in Fig.2.2a, the amount of metals that have already been extracted exceeds the
present reserves (except for Cu, which is about the same in both cases). From this
figure, we can conclude that an intensive effort must be made to open more natural
mines for these resources, and expand the possibilities for recycling them.
Figure 2.2b is similar, except that it shows metals for which the ratio of
reserves in natural mines is larger. The recycling of these metals is thought to be
guided more by energy limitations or national resource procurement limitations
than by resources limitations on a global level. Figure2.2c shows examples of
2.2 World Potential 11
metals that can be calculated in other ways. While these are mostly by-product
elements (with the exception of W), the main products of Cu, Zn and Pb account
for a large proportion of the amount already excavated, so it shows the same kind
of trend. Additionally, there are materials such as Hg and Cd at the bottom that
deserve attention because of pollution problems; their high ratio of on-surface
stock suggests the importance of controlling such toxic materials.
2.2.2Practical Potential
The amount of on-surface stock is only estimated quantitative potential of urban

mining. The activity of recycling is required in order to utilize these on-surface
stock to available resource as raw material of industry. UNEP reported the recy-
cling rate of metals [10]. Three different recycling parameters are shown in the
UNEP report. They are overwritten in Fig.2.3. Why various parameters? The
reason is that there are several different viewpoints on recycling. The greatest
difference is the viewpoint from end of life (EoL) management and raw material
management. UNEP report classifies the efficiency of recycling at the EOL into
three levels. Considering the life cycle of recycled material in Fig.2.4.
(a)
Au (t) : 69%
Ag (kt) : 70%
On surface stock
underground stock
(reserve)
Cu (Mt) : 48% Zn (Mt) : 60%

Pb (Mt) : 72%
Fig.2.2 On-surface stock and Underground stock of a Au, Ag, Cu, Zn, Pb. b Fe, Al, Ni,
Platinum group metal, and Co. c W, Sb, Bi, Cd and Hg
(b)
Fe (Gt) : 25% Al (Gt) : 11% Ni (Mt) : 38%
Co (kt) : 17%
PGM (kt) : 13%
Fig.2.2(continued)
(c)
W (kt) : 43% Sb (kt) : 72% Bi (kt) : 37%
Cd (kt) : 59% Hg (kt) : 76%
Fig.2.2(continued)
UNEP recycle rate EOL-RR,RC,OSR,
element
1 H EOL-RR End of Life recycling rate 2 He
<1%
1-10% RC Recycling content rate
10-25% OSR Old scrap rate
25-50%
3 Li 4 Be >50% 5B 6C 7N 8O 9F 10 Ne
11 Na 12 Mg 13 Al 14 Si 15 P 16 S 17 Cl 18 Ar
19 K 20 Ca 21 Sc 22 Ti 23 V 24 Cr 25 Mn 26 Fe 27 Co 28 Ni 29 Cu 30 Zn 31 Ga 32 Ge 33 As 34 Se 35 Br 36 Kr
37 Rb 38 Sr 39 Y 40 Zr 41 Nb 42 Mo 43 Tc 44 Ru 45 Rh 46 Pd 47 Ag 48 Cd 49 In 50 Sn 51 Sb 52 Te 53 I 54Xe
55 Cs 56 Ba * 72 Hf 73 Ta 74 W 75 Re 76 Os 77 Ir 78 Pt 79 Au 80 Hg 81 Tl 82 Pb 83 Bi 84 Po 85 At 86 Rn
87 Fr 88 Ra **
** actinides 89 Ac 90 Th 91 Pa 92 U
57 La 58 Ce 59 Pr 60 Nd 61 Pm 62 Sm 63 Eu 64 Gd 65 Tb 66 Dy 67 Ho 68 Er 69 Er 70 Yb 71 Lu
* lanthanides
Fig.2.3Recycling rate of metals reported by UNEP [10]
Metal life cycle from UNEP

[d]
[a] [b] [c] EoL
primary refined intermediate product
metal metal product Metal
input Eg.alloy content
Prod Fab Mfg Use Coll
[h]
scrap in
manufacturing
[e]
EoL metal
(new scrap)
[j] collected
[m] scrap use
scrap use In fabrication
In production Scrap Rec
market
[g]
[n] recycled
EoL metal [o] [f]
tailing & in-use EoL metal
(old scrap)
slag dissipation separated for non
functional recycle
EOL CR=e/d old scrap recycling rate Rec

g/e recycling process efficiency
EOL-RR= g/d functional recycling
Production RIR recycling input rate,straight but RC of imported is available in many countries
RC=[j+m]/ [a+j+m]recycling contents, OSR=g/(g;h) old scrap rate
Fig.2.4Simplified Life-cycle of recycled material

(a) CR: old scrap collection rateHow much of the EOL metal is collected and
enters the recycling chain (=e/d).
(b) Recycling process efficiency rateWhat is the efficiency in any recycling
process, namely metal recovery rate in the recycling process (=g/e).
(c) EOL-RR: EOL recycling raterecycling rate of functional recycling which
excludes the circulation as tramp elements (=g/d).
From the viewpoint of raw material managing, there are two important parameters.
(d) RIR: recycling input rateThe percentage of recycled material in the total
metal input in the system.
(e) RC: recycling contentHow much recycled material is contented in a fabri-
cated metal (=(j+m)/(a+j+m)).
By the way, while UNPE report uses the equal sign in the formula of RC, approxi-
mation is correct by considering the difference of tailing material in any processes.
UNEP report also mentions about another viewpoint from scrap flow manage-
ment as
(f) OSR: old scrap ratiothe rate of scrap from EOL in the total scrap which
include manufacturing scrap (=g/(g+h)).
On the other hands, International Standardization Organization (ISO) has another
definitions of recycling. Recycled content (ISO 14021) is expressed as the ratio
of the amount of secondary resource to the total amount of resource consumption.
For the output index, recoverability rate (ISO 22628) is the ratio of the amount
of recoverable material to the amount of discarded material. The former cor-
responds to RIR in UNEP classification. The latter is similar to RC, but UNEP
RC is the result of recycling while ISO 22628 is only the possibility of recycling
which is intended in the products design stage.
As seen above, it is difficult to discuss the current status of recycling with
numeric parameters. From physical viewpoint, RC shows the absolute recycling
status of material, if we can distinguish virgin metal atom from secondary used
metal atom. However, it is difficult to estimate RC by material flow date. As recy-
cling flow is not single life stage but multi stage, infinite flow trace is required to
estimate. RIR can be simplified (m+j)/c when the loss of metal scrap in the pro-
cess is assumed negligible small. The date of fabricated material and that of charged
scrap are comparably easy to obtain in each country. Thus, from this onward, cur-
rent status of recycling is discussed by use of simplified RIR, namely (m+j)/c.
Unfortunately, UNEP report does not cover RIR. The simple RIR of major metals
are calculated from industrial statics data. Figure2.5 shows the transition of recycling
rate as RIR from 1980. In 1980, the recycling rate was almost 50% for iron, in the
40%-range for copper and lead, and in the 20%-range for other metals. At present,
the rates are: 45% for lead (2004), 39% for iron for silver, 16% (2004) for zinc, and
7% (2004) for tin. However the recycling rate of major metal was expected to increase
in these 10years because of the progress of recycling, their practical recycling rate is
not so progressive but decreasing in these 30years. While the theoretical potential of
urban mining has been enlarged, real activity of recycling is not so developed.
Fig.2.5Recycling rate of major metals from 1980

Annual aluminum scrap recovery (kg) per capita
IT
AU US
NZ JP
DK
y=x
y=0.3x
Annual aluminum consumption (kg) per capita
Fig.2.6Aluminum consumption per capita versus its scrap recovery per capita in several countries
The differences of recycling rate among each metals are plotted as the relation
of metal consumption per capita as the denominator and scrap recovery per capita
as the numerator in Figs.2.6, 2.7, 2.8 and 2.9 for aluminum, copper, lead and tin
respectively. The status of each country is plotted by the two alphabetic capital char-
acters of international country code. In these figures, two lines are drawn. One is the
line of y=x. This line means that the amount of recovered scrap is the same as the
Annual copper scrap recovery (kg) per capita
y=x
y=0.3x
Annual copper consumption (kg) per capita
Fig.2.7Copper consumption per capita versus its scrap recovery per capita in several countries
US,
DE,
Annual lead scrap recovery (kg) per capita
IT
ES,
AT
UA,
AR
KZ,
VE
y=x
y=0.5x
Annual lead consumption (kg) per capita
Fig.2.8Lead consumption per capita versus its scrap recovery per capita in several countries
amount of consumed metal. The other line describe a (recovered metal)/(consumed

metal) ratio. For example, the line Fig.2.6), many countries, such as Italy (IT),
United States (US), Japan (JP), New Zealand (NZ), Australia (AU), Denmark (DK),
Annual tin scrap recovery (ton) per capita
y=x
y=0.2x
Annual tin consumption (ton) per capita
Fig.2.9Tin consumption per capita versus its scrap recovery per capita in several countries
Greece (GR), Netherlands (ND), Brazil (BR) have nearly 30% of (recovered)/(con-
sumed) ratio, while the consumption amount per capita are different. This means that
we can compare the recycling ratio of each country without consideration of the total
consumption of metal. From that view point, Norway (NO), Austria (AT), Finland
(FI) and Mexico (MX) have better practices of aluminum recycling. The reason why
the (recovered)/(consumed) ratio of Korea (KR) is lower is that great amount of con-
sumed aluminum in Korea is exported as products not for domestic use.
The opposite case of Korea in Fig.2.6 of aluminum is Austria in Fig.2.7 of
copper. Austria (AT) is plotted at higher position beyond the line y=x. Austria
recovers copper scrap more than consumed copper. This comes from that Austria
imports products and machines which include copper and recovers copper from
these products. This means that we need to consider the material flow in imported
and exported products when we discuss the potential of urban mine in each coun-
try. Excepting Austria, Belgian (BE), Sweden (SE), Germany (DE) and Argentine
(AR) have (recovered)/(consumed) ratio more than 30%.
Several countries, such as Belgian (BE), Sweden (SE), Canada (CA), New
Zealand (NZ), Ukraine (UA), Argentia (AR), Slovakia (SK) and Chili (CL), have
higher (recovered)/(consumed) ratio more than 1. The product which has most
greatest share in lead is lead secondary battery. Used secondary battery is trans-
ported over the country boundary. These countries are considered to recover lead
from the imported used battery. As lead is toxic if it is scattered in the environ-
ment, the recovery ration of lead is high in general. Many countries including
United states (US), Germany (DE), Italy (IT), France (FR), Japan (JP) are plotted
between the line of y=x and y=0.5x.
In the case of tin, (recovery)/(consumption) ratio is not so high in almost coun-
try. Many countries including Japan (JP), Germany (DE), United States (US) are
plotted under the line of 20%. This comes from that the major utilization product
of tin is solder in the electric circuit board. Then, the large amount of product is
exported not to be recovered domestic. Adding it, the difficulty of separative disas-
sembling of solder from electric circuit board pulls down the ratio of recovery. The
effective recycle is expected to collect e-waste intensively and to extract tin from
this. Belgian (BE) seems to be the country where tin is recovered from e-waste
gathered over Europe. These discussion suggests that when we discuss the poten-
tial of urban mining by bottom up method, namely accumulation of each coun-
tries potential, we need to use material flow analysis.
In above discussion, the data of the total consumption of metals was obtained
from the Sekai Kobutsu Shigen Databook (World Mineral Resources Data Book)
published by the Mining and Metallurgical Institute of Japan (MMIJ) [9]. The dat-
abook was complied based on Metal Statistics published by the Metalgeselshaft
and World Metal Statistics published by the World Bureau of Metal Statistics
(WBMS). The data of the secondary metal production were also obtained from
the Sekai Kobutu Shigen Databook (MMIJ) which included data from World Metal
Statistics (WBMS).
The recycling rate of gold and silver were calculated using the total supply
reported in Gold Survey 2007 of the Gold Fields Mineral Services [11], the World
Silver Survey 2007 of the Gold Fields Mineral Services [12]. For iron, the calcula-
tion used data compiled by the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI), with
the crude steel production figure in World Steel in Figures2007 [13] and scrap
consumption.
2.3Domestic Potential of Urban Mining

intheCaseofJapan
2.3.1Flow Estimation Method

As it is discussed in Sect.2.3, material flow analysis is important when the domes-
tic potential of urban mine is discussed. The main flow is absolutely the flow after
the consumption, namely end-of-life flow. Most simple approach to estimate the
end-of-life flow is assuming that sold products are all consumed and are extra-
ditable to recycling. If the amount of each metal which consists in products is
obtained, the total amount of each metal which is extraditable to recycle can be
estimated by multiplying the amount of annual production of the products.
MITI and MOE of Japanese government made a collaboration group with sev-
eral local government and companies associated recycling. This group, named
Study Group on Rare Metals Recycling from End-of-life Small size Electric appli-
ances, estimated the amount of metal by this method. The Study group analyzed
the contents of rare metals in major small electric appliances and calculated the
amount of each metals which is extraditable to recycling [14]. Figure2.10 is
described by use of the data which were estimated by this committee.
2.3 Domestic Potential of Urban Mining in the Case of Japan 19
Fig.2.10Estimated annual amount of metal which are included in small electric appliances in
Japan
The digit of longitudinal axis is different from 1,000ton to 10kg depending on

the kind of metal. The most content is copper, nearly 4,000ton per year zinc, lead,
manganese, antimony, silver and tantalum follows it. Comparing among the kind
of small size electric appliances, cell phone, audio machine and electric oven have
considerable amount of rare metals. Figure2.11 is rewritten from Fig.2.9, by con-
verting into price from weight. Gold and silver which were less weight than cop-
per go ahead. Total value of recycling potential from small size electric appliances
is nearly 330million dollar. Among this, gold is 240million dollar and silver is
28million dollar, and the major appliances are cell phone and audio machine.
In the case of small size electric appliances in Japan, annual consumption of the
products is nearly same. But, the amount of end-of-life products is not the amount
of currently produced one. The flow for recycling is emerged from in-use-stock.
In-use-stock is the material of product which is used and possessed currently. And
it is emerged after when the product finishes its roll. It is called end-of-life of the
product. The time delay of the material flow as in-use-stock should be consid-
ered in the case of the application to long life products.
Figures2.11 and 2.12 show transitions in the volume of industrially consumed
Au and Platinum group metals (PGM), respectively, from 1995 to 2005. Data are
obtained from Ref. [9] and Platinum 2007 by Johnson & Mathey co. [15]. The col-
umn on the left shows the major applications of each metal in domestic industrial
use. Domestic remaining rate is the percentage of product which is used domesti-
cally, and it is explained briefly in the next chapter.
Fig.2.11Estimated value of annual amount of metal which are included in small electric appli-
ances in Japan
Au (industrial use) In-use stock 149t End-of-life flow 42t/year
Electric
device
Plating
Fountain
pen
Watch
Ceramic
Fig.2.12Transitions in the volume of industrially consumed Au from 1995 to 2005 and an esti-
mation of In-use stock and end-of-life flow of industrial gold
In these table, the white numbers on the black background show typical ranges of
legally useful life for the product. If we assume for the time being that the legally use-
ful life is equal to actual product life, then the white numbers represent the amount of
in-use stock. The bold-type numbers on the white background denote the used part for
the applicable year, which is the used stock and is emerged into End-of-life flow.
The used stock is changed into the accumulation of dissipated stock if End-of-life
flow is not well recycled. The numbers in italics on the right side correspond to numer-
ical values of dissipated stock in cases where the used stock is not managed properly.
From these tables we can see that in-use stock was 149tons for gold, and 169tons for
platinum, while used stock consisted of 42tons of gold and 35.8tons of platinum.
2.3.2Domestic Stock Estimation Method
In the Sect.2.3.1, we discuss the importance of material flow analysis to estimate

the potential of urban mining in a country. And further, we discuss that only mate-
rial flow is not enough but the consideration of stock especially in-use stock and
used stock are important. Further more, we have found that other type of stock,
namely dissipated stock, which is the accumulation of the outflow from end-of-life
flow to recycle flow. If we discuss the maximum possibility of urban mining, the
dissipated stock should also be estimated in order to re-mine from the dissipated
stock which is also the resource which exist not in the nature but in the human
activity area.
It is very difficult to estimate the dissipated stock by accumulating material
flow analysis. But, considering that the total of in-use stock, used stock and dis-
sipated stock is the domestic accumulated amount of the material, this problem is
solved by estimating the domestic accumulation.
When calculating domestic accumulated amounts, a problem is encountered that
does not appear in the case of the global level; the input and output over national
boundaries, that is, imports and exports. Imports include imported ores and inter-
mediate resources, materials, parts, and finished products. In addition, some fin-
ished products are imported with other finished products contained inside, such as
batteries that are included in electronic equipment. The import of materials includes
not only virgin materials but also scrap. These patterns also occur with exports.
Figure 2.13 shows the relation with the system boundary. The area encom-
passed by the double frame is the system boundary of Japan. The amount flow-
ing into this area includes domestically mined materials derived from resource
statistics, and imports of ores, metals, intermediate materials and scrap obtained
from foreign trade statistics, etc. The amounts of outflow include metals, scrap and
intermediate products obtained from trade statistics. The export ratio was calcu-
lated using I/O Tables as mentioned afterwards, and was combined with material
PGM (industrial use ) In-use stock 169t End-of-life flow 35.8t/year
automobile
electric
equipment
chemical
plant
petroleum
plant
glass
industry
Fig.2.13Transitions in the volume of industrially consumed Pt from 1995 to 2005 and an esti-
mation of in-use stock and end-of-life flow of industrial platinum group metal
flow analysis to derive the amount of exports as intermediate and final products.
The internal area of the boundary was not subjected at all to this estimation.
Therefore, in-use stock, used stock and dissipated stock were calculated together
as broadly defined cumulative volume. It should be noted that dissipated stock
includes materials that were ultimately processed as waste that had almost no
chance of being recovered, materials such as Zn plating that reverted back to the
natural environment while they were being used, and so on. It should also be noted
that the outflow of used stock in a form that is not listed in industrial statistics was
not included in the present calculations.
As the amount that is currently being extracted from natural mines in Japan is
only a minuscule amount, the on-surface stock within Japan is calculated from
the difference between imports and exports. Here, the amounts of ores, mate-
rials, scrap imported and exported are calculated directly from data such as the
international trade statistics; UN COMTRADE [16]. When trade statistics gives
insufficient information such as in, industry publications such as Industrial Rare
Metals by Alumu Shuppan [17] are helpful. Based on these information sources,
these numerical values were turned into a database in the Sekai Koubutu Shigen
Databook [9] and were used as reference materials for the present calculations.
The problem exists in the estimation of metals in products, parts and materials
as imports and exports. For example, in cases such as Fe which can be exported
in the form of automobiles, it is possible to derive a rough value by multiplying
the average amount of Fe which is used in one automobile by the total number
of automobiles exported. However, the content depends on the type of equipment
in the case of Au which is used in electronic equipment. Furthermore, electronic
equipment is exported not only as consumer goods; there are numerous cases
where it is exported in combination with other products, such as car navigation
systems in automobiles. These flow are difficult to be estimated by bottom-up
method with tracing the product material flow. But, a top down method such as
Input/Output analysis can give rough information of flow among industrial sectors.
Fortunately, the content of metal in products in the same industrial sector is simi-
lar because of the same aim of utilization of the metal. Halada et al. [18] joined
I/O analysis and material flow analysis to estimate the metals in products, in order
to estimate the domestic accumulated potential of urban mine. In the case of Au,
the amount that we can understand is the yearly amount that is used as inputs in
the industrial sector such as the electronics industry that is derived from census
of manufacturers, material flow analysis, and so on. Halada et al. [18] obtained
data on the amount of parts and final products exported from Trade Statistics of
Japan. Thus, it has become possible to estimate the amount of metal contained in
exported products by combining these two types of data sources.
Then, the two types of data using inputoutput analyses are combined. The
InputOutput (I/O) Tables of Japan, which show inputs from one industrial sector to
another on a price basis, cover all industries. These I/O Tables are currently issued
once every 5years by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications [19].
Table 2.1 shows the calculated exportation rate of semi-product including the
derived demand of exportation by using I/O matrix calculation. The first column
Table2.1Calculated export ratio in each industry

Code Item Metal Export (direct)/ Export (derived)/
production (%) production (%)
221101 Plastic articles Sb, Sn 4.6 24.2
207909 Other chemicals Zn 15.8 34.2
2623021 Coated steel Zn, Sn 21.3 37.8
2721011 Wires and power cables Cu 14.1 39.3
2722011 Wrought copper Cu, Zn 25.1 46.3
2722021 Wrought aluminum Al 10.8 28.6
articles
2722099 Other non-ferrous Ag 17.1 50.1
products
2811011 Structural metal products Fe 0.5 1.6
2812011 Building metal products Fe, Al 0.2 3.1
289903 Powder metallurgy W, Co, Ta 8.9 29.6
products
2899021 Metal cans Zn, Sn 0.7 16.4
289 Other metal products Ta 5.9 22.0
301 Industrial machinery Fe 25.5 36.2
321 Electric equipments Fe, PGM, Ag 25.0 38.6
3341021 Integrated circuit Au 40.7 63.8
3359021 Liquid crystal elements In 14.4 41.7
3359099 Other electric devices Au, In, Ta, Sn 19.0 55.3
340 Power electric device Ag 23.4 45.9
351 Automobile Fe, PGM 25.1 46.3
36 Vehicle Fe 26.4 46.4
37 Precious instruments 24.6 29.9
3711011 Camera Ag 37.7 43.0
39 others 6.7 19.1
of the table shows the industry classification code (I/O code). This emphasizes
the ability to respond to individual metals by category of demand industry in the
material flow analysis. For some industries, the last 6- or 7-digit code is not only
shown, but the upper 2-digit code is also used for summarizing including wider
categories. The metals listed in the 3rd column are the targets of the various types
of industrial demand. It should be noted that the low demand in the material flow
has little effect, so it is ignored. The 4th column lists the direct export volume,
which is used here for reference. The column on the far right is the export ratio
for each industrial sector. For example, the rate exported directly from the plastics
sector is a mere 4.6%, but if we consider indirect exports then that figure rises
to 24.2%. In other words, if another 1,000tons of antimony is used as auxiliary
fire-retardant agents in the plastics sector, then 242tons of that is exported, and
758tons is considered to remain in Japan. The exported materials with the high-
est export ratio are IC boards (63.8%) and electronic devices (55.3%), and more
Table2.2Result of estimation of the accumulation of each metal in Japan

Metal Accumulation possibility Ratio of Japanese (Accumulation)/(Japanese
of rban mine urban mines potential annual consumption) (year)
in Japan (ton) to world reserve (%)
Al 60,000,000 0.2 14.3
Sb 340,000 [3] 19.1 48.7
Cr 16,000,000 2.1 17.3
Co 130,000 1.9 8.9
Cu 38,000,000 [2] 8.1 14.2
Au 6,800 [1] 16.4 22.1
In 1,700 [2] 15.5 1.9
Fe 1,200,000,000 1.6 10.3
Pb 5,600,000 [4] 9.9 17.6
Li 150,000 3.8 149.0
Mo 230,000 2.7 8.8
Ni 1,700,000 2.7 71.9
PGM 2,500 [3] 3.6 28.8
REE 3,000 0.4 14.2
Ag 60,000 [1] 22.4 15.6
Ta 4,400 [3] 10.4 4.1
Sn 660,000 [5] 10.9 17.4
W 57,000 2.0 2.3
V 140,000 1.1 51.5
Zn 13,000,000 [6] 6.4 20.0
The fourth column gives the calculated value of accumulation of each metal in Japan. World
annual consumptions and amount of reserves are shown as references
than half of metals input into their respective sectors are calculated as being sent
overseas.
Thus the amount of metal in the exported products can be estimated. The next
step is make summation of imported materials and subtraction of exported materi-
als for every year.
2.3.3Domestic Stock Estimation
Table 2.2 shows the results obtained by applying this method to various met-
als. The bold letters in the 2nd column of the table show the estimated values of
metals that have been accumulated in Japan. The 4th column makes a compari-
son between the calculated accumulation in Japan and the annual domestic con-
sumption. The accumulation corresponds more than 10years stockpile for several
important metals. Figure2.14 shows the comparison of Japanese urban mining
potential to the global demand of each metal. It is appeared that only Japanese
Trade Trade
statistics statistics small small
ore metal parts products

import import import import
country
In-Use stock
Industrial
statistics
mining refiner manufacturer assembler use Used stock recycler
Dissipated
stock
export export export

E-reuse/
Meta; parts products scrap
waste
Trade Trade
statistics I/O I/O statistics
Fig.2.14System boundary of the domestic accumulation of metal in a country
Fig.2.15The ratio of accumulation in Japan to the amount of annual consumption in the world
potential corresponds to the several years global demands. This means that domes-
tic urban mining potential should be considered as a resource source of industrial
materials as important as natural metal resources. The 3rd column of Table2.2
shows a comparison with world reserves, and they are shown in Fig.2.15. Many
metals accumulations are estimated to be equivalent to 1020% of reserves. For
reference, by arranging this broadly defined cumulative amount in order of amount
Total accumulation in Japan compared with

reserve in the world (%)
Fig.2.16Corresponding percentages of accumulation in Japan compared with the amount of

reserves in the world
of reserves held by the worlds resource countries, we can get an idea of the extent
to which this is ranked by the numbers at the left side of 3rd column (Fig. 2.16).
For Au and Ag, the accumulated amounts lying dormant exceed the reserves of
South Africa and Poland, respectively. Indium is equivalent to the amount of
reserves in China. Cu is equivalent to the next order of the reserves of Chile. Of
course, this does not mean that the amount of owned reserves of Au and Ag, which
have different extractable levels, are the highest in the world, but if recycling tech-
nology and systems can break through this wall, then they should have enormous
potential.
2.3.4Comparing with Activities in Japan
Finally, lets look at the relation between broadly defined cumulative volume data
as potential for urban mining, and the amount that is being recycled at the pre-
sent time. Table2.3 shows the recycling rates (a)/(b) for various metals that were
interpreted from JOGMECs material flow analyses and the cumulative volume
ratio (a)/(c). While there are various definitions for the recycling rate, here it is
the amount of recycled inputs such as scrap (target metals conversion) divided by
the demand including exports (listed simply as demand in the table). It should
be noted that for siderophile rare metals such as Cr, Ni, Mn, and Mo that are often
used and recycled as alloys, values for structural alloy, stainless and high-tensile
steels were interpreted from the 2006 edition of the Non-Ferrous Metals Statistical
Yearbook. By finding typical corresponding compositions, the recycled amount
was estimated and this value was corrected to a hypothetical 100% recycled rate.
Table2.3Recycling amount and ratio of metals at 2006 in Japan

(a) Recycle (b) Demand (c) Accumulation (a)/(b) (%) (a)/(c)
(%)
Fe 34,686,000 116,226,000 1,200,000,000 29.8 2.9
Al 1,121,000 4,201,000 60,000,000 26.7 1.9
Cu 1,235,000 2,667,000 38,000,000 46.3 3.0
Cr 163,000 923,000 16,000,000 17.7 1.0
Zn 108,000 650,000 13,000,000 16.6 0.8
Mn 150,000 633,000 23.7
Pb 112,000 318,000 5,600,000 35.2 2.0
Ni 29,800 236,300 1,700,000 12.6 1.8
Ti 983 63,858 1.5
Mg ? 47,019
Sn 1,092 37,976 660,000 2.9 0.1
Mo 1,798 26,200 230,000 6.9 0.8
W 2,616 25,180 57,000 10.4 4.6
RE ? 21,179 300,000
Sr ? 18,416
Co 9,117 14,639 130,000 62.3 7.0
Ba 107.5 13,716 7.8
B 0 11,779 0
Zr ? 8,429
Sb 690 6,983 340,000 9.9 0.2
Ag 317 3,847 60,000 8.2 0.5
Cd 119 3,102
V 439 2,719 140,000 16.1 0.3
Bi 12.5 1,391
Ta ? 1,076 4,400
Li 7.97 1,007 150,000 0.8 0.00
In 408 905 1,700 45.0 24.0
Se 26 788 3.3
Au 23.7 307 6,800 7.7 0.3
Ga 92.9 168.4 55.2
Cs 3.65 115 3.2
Be 25 89 28.1
Te ? 63.2
Pd 31.7 51.6 1,100 61.4 2.9
Pt 6.83 35.1 1,400 19.5 0.5
Rh 1.49 26.0 5.7
Ge 0 42.3
Hf 0 2.3
Hg 0.198 0.258 76.7
Tl 0 0.8
Rb 0 0.01
Additionally, in regards to Au, the numerical value for industrial rare metals was
used because of the ambiguous definition of recycled gold.
As we can see in Table2.3, with some exceptions the recycled amount of rare
metals is less than the accumulated volume, and even for metals such as Au, Ag
and Pt which have a high recycling rate from junk items, the utilization rate is
less than 1%. This means that a large amount of stock such as in-use stock does
not enter the stage of processing for recycling. At the same time, for metals such
as Fe, Al, Cu, and Pb that have a high recycling of more than 10% and for which
recycling occupies a major position in the production system, the proportion of
recycled volume is about 23%, but this does not mean that the accumulated vol-
ume can just be extracted as recycling. However, taking into account the ratios of
rare metals to those of Fe, Cu, etc., there is a high possibility that the recycled vol-
ume of rare metals increases.
2.4Summary
The potential of urban mining is getting greater. From the global view, the poten-
tial of urban mining, namely the estimated amount of on-surface stock which has
been mine form the geo-sphere into the techno-sphere, is comparative to natural
resource which is still in geo-sphere as underground stock. Japan, which is con-
sidered a typical exporter of materials, has great potential of urban mining which
come s from domestic demand of products. However, real activity of development
of urban mine, namely recycling, is not so effective, especially for minor metals
which sometime called rare metals from the viewpoint of the importance in indus-
tries. We need to develop the technology and system for urban mining, just now.
References
1. Halada K, Shimada M, Ijima K (2008) Forecasting of the consumption of metals up to 2050.

Mater Trans 49(3):402410
2. Nanjo M (1987) Urban mine. Bull Res Insti Miner Dressing Metall Tohoku Univ 43(2):239
241 (in Japanese)
3. Nishiyama T (1993) Shigen Keizaigaku no Suusume (Encouragement of resource econom-
ics). Chuko Shinsho, Tokyo
4. Shiratori T, Nakamura T (2006) Concept of artificial mineral deposit. Shigen to Spozai
122:325329
5. Japan Ferrous Raw Materials Association (2013) Accumulated quantity estimation of Japan.
http://www.tetsugen.gol.com/kiso/5chikujapan.htm. Accessed 1 Nov 2013
6. JOGMEC Mineral Research Information Center (2013) http://www.jogmec.go.jp/mric_
web/jouhou/material_flow_frame.html. Accessed 1 Nov 2013
7. Metal Economics Research Institute of Japan (1996) Dou Namari Aen Kokunai Material
Flow Chousa (survey on the domestic material flow of Cu, Pb, Zn) (in Japanese)
8. US Geological Survey (2013) Minerals information, commodity statics and information.
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/. Accessed 1 Nov 2013
References 29
9. MMIJ (2006) 2nd edition of world mineral resources databook, Ohmu-sha (Tokyo) (in
Japanese)
10. UNEP (2011) Recycling rate of metals. ISBN:978-92-807-3161-3 DTI/1381/PA
11. Gold Fields Mineral Services (2008) Gold survey 2007
12. Gold Fields Mineral Services (2008) Silver survey 2007
13. International Iron and Steel Institute (2008) World Steel in Figures2007.
http://www.steelonthenet.com/kb/files/World_Steel_in_Figures_2007.pdf. Accessed 1 Nov 2013
14. Ministry of International Trade and Industry Japan, Ministry of Environment Japan (2009)
Report of study group on rare metals recycling from end-of-life small size electric appliances
(in Japanese)
15. Johnson & Mathey co (2008) Platinum 2007
16. UN COMTRADE, United Nations commodity trade statistics database. http://comtrade.
un.org/db/default.aspx. Accessed 1 Nov 2013
17. Industrial Rare Metal, vol 124, Alumu-Shuppan-Sha, Tokyo (in Japanese)
18. Halada K, Ijima K, Shimada M, Katagiri N (2009) A possibility of urban mining in Japan. J
Jpn Inst Met 73(3):151160 (in Japanese)
19. Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (2007) The input-output (I/O) tables of
Japan
Chapter 3
Development of Urban Mine
Abstract How to develop urban mine is shown as an analogy of how to develop

natural mine in this chapter. Both ways are similar but different in developing.
Harmonization of social system for collecting a good resource from end of life
products and real separation techniques is essential to develop urban mine. A new
concept Artificial deposit is remarkably useful for recycling minor rare met-
als. Not same. Especially physical separation techniques are quite different. We
need new processes to dismantle and detach parts from end of life products. And
we have to re-understand that old infrastructure in iron and steel and non-ferrous
industries plays essential role to realize urban mining.
KeywordsEconomics of urban mine WEEEE-scrapMinor rare metals

Electrical disintegration Accompany metals
3.1Social System
3.1.1General Economic Considerations

In a free market economy, the cost of commodities is in the first priority deter-
mined by factors like offer and demand and their expected evolution, scarcity, per-
ceived value, marketing efforts, etc. The cost of production is composed of fixed
and variable cost factors and needs to remain lower than the selling price to gener-
ate gross profit.
Minor rare metals are traded in much smaller amounts than the base met-
als and often the number of potential suppliers and users is rather limited. Many
users cover a large proportion of their needs via long-term contracts, leaving only
smaller amounts to be purchased via spot markets. Some buyers tend to stockpile
materials during price drops. Sometimes it is quite difficult to establish or identify
a open market value. Typical examples of such elements without clearly defined
market value are, e.g. Tantalum. Trading may be hampered by all kinds of restric-
tions. China has charged export license to export rare earth elements. Thus prices

32 3 Development of Urban Mine
Promote 3R:Reduce,Recycle,Reuse
Reduce Carbon Emission
<Production> <Consumption, Use>

Ore Substitution
Metal Semi
Smelting/Refining Size Reduction,
saving
Product Reuse
Recycle Recycled Material
(with/without
Value)
<Recycle>
Waste
(No Value)
Fig.3.1General material supply for sustainable society
of them jumped up but their prices were rapidly down after user cut the usage of
rare earth elements, especially light rare earth elements such as cerium and lantha-
num, which are critical to the production of automotive emission control catalytic
converters.
After an ore is mined, it is depleted and will never return to the mine. In a
highly cyclic context and with historically decreasing mineral and metal values a
suitable compensation should still be provided for the considerable financial risks
to be taken while scouting ore deposits and developing a mine. Still, in a global
context there is little pricing power at the mining level. Smelters often operate on
the basis of a refining premium.
Minor rare metals often play an essential role in high-range and demanding
applications, however requiring only minimal amounts, yet of exceptionally high
purity or other particular requirements or specifications. Nevertheless, the amounts
consumed in lower ranking or even trivial applications may be much larger.
Figure 3.1 shows a general material supply for sustainable society. Roles of
3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and recycle) in a sustainable society are shown in this figure.
We need natural resources to produce final goods and recycling of each produc-
tion stage and end of life products supports to save primary resources. Reuse is
very effective if it would act in right way. However, it is sometimes magic cloak of
invisibility for illegal treatment of waste. Then effective collection system is nec-
essary to control waste.
Figure3.2 shows a photograph of an old cellular phone with the metals it con-
tains. There are many kinds of metals in the phone. Of course, the amount of each
is very small; the largest amount is copper, with a weight about 10g. This is, how-
ever, a relatively high content compared with natural ores. Therefore, items such
3.1 Social System 33
Speaker: Ferrite
Vibration Motor: Nd
Tip Ceramics Capacitor: Ag, Pd, Ti, Ba, Pb, Ni, Zr
Tip Resistance:Fe, Ag, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn

Tip Coil: Cu
Crystalline Liquid: In, Sn
Camera Unit: Cu, Ni, Au

Epoxy-Glass Circuit Board: Cu, SiO2, (Br)
Solder: Pb Sn
Quartz Oscillator: Si, Cu, Ni

Tip Tantalum Capacitor: Ta, Ag, Mn
IC: Au, Ag, Cu, Si
Plastics: Sb
Button Type Battery: Ag
Earphone jack , AC jack: Au
Contact Breaker Points: Fe, Ni, Cr, Ag
Fig.3.2Metals on circuit board of cellular phone
as phones would good resources if we can collect significant amounts in a cost-

effective manner.
We need another story if we recover minor rare metals from E-scrap. Figure3.3
shows how to recover minor rare metals from small sized WEEE. We have to
detached parts which contain a certain amount of minor rare metals from E-scrap.
And these parts containing minor rare metals have to be stockpiled in one place
for recycling. Because amount of minor rare metals is small in each scrap as
shown in Fig.3.2 and is not enough amount for economical recycling plant.
Normally a small plant is not easy to operate economically.
Material flow analysis yields very important information for recycling, play-
ing the same role as exploration does when developing a new mine. We can deter-
mine where and how Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) should
be collected. Much research has studied the flow of WEEE [16]. One of the
results of WEEE macro flow in Japan is shown in Fig.3.4. The annual amount of
Japanese WEEE was calculated at 19.4kg/person. This quantity is nearly equal to
the amount of discharge from the EU countries, which is said to be about 20kg/
person. Half the weight of WEEE was collected in the home appliance recycling
Small sized WEEE
Separation of
residual matter Disposal of Waste
Circuit Board
Detecting Copper
Rare Metals
Separation
Smelter
WEEE have the Parts

contains Rare Metal Recovery of Iron
and Aluminium
Separation Stock Pile of Rare Metals
Parts contains Rare Metals

Circuit Board
Shredding
Shredded Circuit Board
Rare Metals
Pysical Separation
Gravity
Copper, Gold, Silver
Magnetic
Electrostatic
Fig.3.3Flow of recovering minor rare metals from small sized WEEE
system in Japan, which applies to large home appliances like televisions, wash-
ing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners. Personal computers and cellular
phones are collected in other self-recycling systems.
E-scrap through local governments is mainly landfilled, and the portion col-
lected by small traders is shipped abroad, legally and illegally.
Small domestic appliances were not collected intensively. Then, a new recy-
cling law was enforced beginning in April 2013. The potential weight of WEEE
reaches 20kg per capita in Japan, the same as in other well-developed countries.
However, the collection ratio is less than 50%. In particular, ratios for high-grade
WEEE such as PCs and cellular phones are small, and they continue to have hid-
den flows.
E-scrap is a good source of minor metals, and its recycling is one countermeas-
ure for a stable supply of those metals.
The recycling flow of non-ferrous metals in Japan is shown in Fig.3.8. E-scrap
containing non-ferrous metals is ultimately recycled in non-ferrous smelters via
several routes. In the case of WEEE, when copper, gold and silver are collected
3.1 Social System 35
Fig.3.4Macro flow of Japanese (estimation in 2007)
for recycling, minor metals can be gathered with them. If minor metals are sepa-
rated from WEEE by proper techniques and are accumulated for reservation, we
can consider those metals resources. However, recycling of REE from WEEE is
still far from covering the demand. Why is recycling of REE so difficult? What is
the essential problem blocking progress of recycling? There are problems of both
social system and technology. The biggest hurdle is constructing an economical
collection system for WEEE. In the EU, a directive for WEEE was established,
and a recycling law for home electronics application was implemented in Japan.
However, in neither case was a strategy for recovering minor rare metals consid-
ered. Another bottleneck for recovery comes from difficulties in recovery technol-
ogy, especially in the dismantling of parts containing REE. Most such parts have
small amounts of metals and have complex shapes for dismantling. A NdFeB
magnet has very strong magnetic force and they are sometimes used with steel.
Another difficulty is separating REE from other metals like iron. Separation of Dy
from Nd after leaching is not a difficult process.
A new concept of metal recycling system (RtoS or Reserve to Stock, arti-
ficial ore deposit design [7]) was shown in this small book. This concept was
based on the paper entitled Urban Mine [8]. If a recovery system is not imple-
mented, minor rare metals will diffuse across the land. In the case of WEEE, how-
ever, when Cu, Au, and Ag are collected for recycling, minor rare metals can be
gathered with them. If minor rare metals are separated from WEEE by appropriate
methods and are accumulated for reservation, we can consider them resources. A
possibility for minor rare metal recycling was shown that could have a self-sup-
porting economic system, through design of a collection system and changing the
recycling system related to commercial transactions.
Certain minor metals have been blacklisted because of inherent toxicological
and environmental issues. The RoHs-Directive closely associated with the WEEE-
Directive targets a number of toxic and otherwise hazardous compounds and ele-
ments, such as cadmium, mercury, and lead. This has created a specific context,
in which substitutes need to be developed. Numerous specific outlets of these ele-
ments are banned, yet others exempted from such ostracism, including nickle/cad-
mium- and lead batteries, suitable alternatives still failing.
3.2Technologies
3.2.1Analogy of Natural Ore Processing

Metal production from natural ore has had a long history, even more than
200years old after industrial revolution. First step is exploration of ores, and it
continues feasible study (FS) for mining, mining, mineral dressing and extrac-
tion. Man-made resources (metal scrap and/or waste containing metals) have also
been treated in same way. Differences between both are early stages as shown in
Fig.3.5. The Exploration, FS and mining are corresponding to material flow anal-
ysis of target metals, collection system for scrap and collection of scrap, respec-
tively. Establishment of collection system is essential in developing urban mining
economically.
A whole flow about the processing of E-scrap is shown in Fig.3.6. This fig-
ure shows a flow of e-scrap after collecting, it means mainly pretreatment stage
of e-scrap. WEEE are dismantled and crushed to various parts in first step after
collecting. There are many methods for dismantling like hand-picking and for
* Normal Mining
FS for Mineral
Exploration Mining Extraction
Mining Dressing
* Urban Mining
Material Planning
Pre-
Flow for Collection Extraction
Treatment
Analysis Collection
Fig.3.5Comparison between urban mine development and normal mine development

3.2Technologies 37
WEEE
Reusable Reused components
component
Recycled materials
Sorting Dismantling
Required selective
Treatment Energy Recovery
treatment
Large home appliances,
Small/middle sized domestic e.g. LCD, PCB Landfill
appliances including PCB or LCD, Harmful Substances
Small domestic appliances, Material
Recyclable material Recycled materials
including minor metals, recycling
Other appliances, e.g. Fe, Cu, Al, PS, PP, ABS,
Battery, etc. Recycled materials
Difficult to process Component
Recycling Energy Recovery
e.g. Motor, Compressor,
Components including minor metals Landfill
Material
Processing Materials (separated)
recycling
Recycled materials
e.g. Chemical, Thermal, e.g. Fe, Cu, Al, PS, ABS

Physical
Energy Recovery
Residue
Landfill
Normal metal recycle
Advanced metal recycle
Focusing Minor metals and Harmful components
Fig.3.6A whole flow about the processing of e-scrap
crushing like shredding. Sorting techniques are applied to separate each materi-
als like iron and steels, non-ferrous alloys like aluminum and copper, and plas-
tics. These sorting techniques are not only real sorting process but include gravity
separation, magnetic separation and so on, which are mainly used as old mineral
processing.
3.2.2Physical Separation Techniques
Dismantling and detachments of parts from e-scrap are essential and higher cost
techniques in pretreatment processes for physical separation. For example, dis-
mantle procedure for hybrid car motor and detachment process of Nd-Fe-B mag-
net are shown in Fig.3.7ac. It took more than 1h to detach the Nd-Fe-B magnet
from motor. One of most hard process was diamagnetism of Nd-Fe-B magnet.
There is a recycling process for Nd-Fe-B magnet sludge from magnet manufactur-
ing company in Japan. Then, there canis almost no problem if we could get used
Nd-Fe-B magnet from recycling market. This is almost same situation in second-
ary battery recycling in HEV and EV cars.
New techniques are desired for effective recycling of minor rare metals, there-
fore, we are trying to develop new detachment process. Our try for new break
down process is shown in right hand side of Fig.3.8 with normal crushing process
(a)
Overview of motor with gear Motor Dismantle of outer case
Dismantle of outer case Inside of motor Parts of special gears
Fig.3.7Dismantling of motor in HV
(b)
Detaching of outside core Detaching of outside core Outside core part
Inside core part Inside core part Whole parts of motor

dismantled
Fig.3.7(continued)
in left hand side of the same figure [9]. The principal of this new process is an
electrical disintegration by electric pulse. e-scrap is brake down by high voltage
electric pulse in water. IC chips and LSI can be detached from print circuit board
under a proper condition. Ta-capacitor is also broken down to plastic part and Ta
sinter with lead wire. This is very useful to pretreatment for e-scrap recycling.
3.2Technologies 39
(c)
Nd magnet
Demagnetize Cutting magnetic steel sheet Cutting magnetic steel sheet
Nd magnet (71g x 16sheets) Nd magnet and magnetic

steel sheet
Fig.3.7(continued)
Fig.3.8Developments of novel brake down technology
Next step in the pretreatment is a separation of each part and/or material. In

this area there have been available various techniques like magnetic separation as a
unit operation. A selection of a good combination of these techniques is important
for high performance separation system. One of standard line up of these kinds of
Automatic Separation of devices and parts

containing minor metals from WEEE
content
Developments automatic system which combine gravity separation
and sorting separation using IT techniques.
Image analysis
Gravity separation
Data base
Ta capacitor ( Ta,Si,Mn)
Sensing
crystal oscillator (Cu,Ni,Zn)
thermistor (Ni,Mn,Co)
deviices
Sorting machine
Other parts containing
minor metals
Development of gravity separator which can separate each device

Sorting machine which can separate each device
Key points: Smart system consist of each separation technique
Fig.3.9Concept of new sorting system
techniques is magnetic separation, gravity separation and eddy current separation

to separate iron scrap, non-ferrous scrap and plastics. Of course, each techniques
has been progressed to enhance the separation quality and speed.
Sorting techniques have been rapidly developed in recent. First development of
this technique is old as other physical separation processes. It was slow separa-
tion speed at early stage of development. Now this technique has become one of
major process in physical separation. Very schematic illustration of the process is
shown in Fig.3.9. Key point of this process is what characters are analyzed by
using various sensors like color, shape, weight and chemical composition. Almost
every sensing techniques like IR, XRD and XRF are available for the characteriza-
tion of target materials. High quality separation can be achieved by this technique
especially for waste plastics. Even plastics contained brominated flame retardants
can be separated from waste plastics. Very recent topic is a development of Laser
Induced Brake Down Spectroscopy Sorter (LIBS Sorter), in which Laser Induced
Brake Down Spectroscopy analysis is used as a sensing.
3.2.3Smelting and Extraction Techniques
Also metallurgical production, with its intrinsic potential of smelting, extraction,

enrichment and separation methods, related technology and process flow sheets,
3.2Technologies 41
each with their own selectivity and yield, plays an important role in the context of
minor rare metals.
Integrated iron and steel industry is relatively straightforward: starting with
iron ore mining, ore sintering and/or pelletizing, production of metallurgical coke,
quarrying of limestone, it continues with a fixed sequence involving blast fur-
naces, convertors, hot and often cold rolling. Nonferrous metal industry is much
more diversified than steel production. Almost all plant is unique, adapted to either
the composition of specific and often complex ores, or to certain ranges of metal
scrap and/or residues. Particular processes and plant lay-outs are determined by
(1) ore composition, including amount and nature of its intrinsic accompanying
impurities and their own markets and value, and (2) the required purity of the
resulting products and other technical or environmental specifications. Depending
on the process principle and flow sheet, the occurrence of accompanying elements
is either beneficialsince their separation is easy and their contribution to turno-
ver substantialor pernicious, in the opposite case. This leads to highly diversi-
fied flow sheets and operating conditions, in which some plant recovers a wide
range of additional elements, separating these one by one, and other plant merely
removing these as undesirable impurities, e.g. in the slag. Such choices are made
on the basis of economic, logistic, as well as technical reasons.
Copper is a valuable element, and silver even more so. Yet, during electroly-
sis silver is precipitated willfully with the slimes, since it is separated easily, sold
profitably, and moreover its continued presence lowers the quality of electrolytic
copper. Nickel similarly is highly valuable and yet its presence in a copper smelter
may become a real nuisance: when it appears, it cannot be separated so easily and
still has to be sluiced out, together with quite a bit of copper co-entrained in the
bleed stream in order to safeguard copper specification standards. Of course, some
dedicated smelters operate schemes that allow separating these two valuable met-
als, but these smelters may be situated far away and not too much interested in
custom co-treating such an occasional mixed copper/nickle-stream. Getting value
for less usual or more complex flows is not so evident and the picture of offer and
demand for such services is often unfavorable and continuously evolving.
Nevertheless, recycling has its limits. Even though collection efficiency may
be optimized for almost all base metals treated, there will likely be exceptions,
albeit in the domain of minor rare metals! Minor rare metals show some particu-
lar characteristics that are different from those of the more usual metals and ren-
der them more specific. Some are used as a metal, others more as oxides or salts.
Some are rather to be classified as metalloids. Some are really scarce, or difficult
to separate and produce under a pure form andwhenever possibleused as a
mixture. A classical example is the group of Rare Earth Elements (REE), a group
of lanthanides, which were isolated only one after another, starting historically
from common ore bodies. One of their trade forms is mischmetal, referring to
the German for mixed metal and containing various lanthanides roughly in their
original proportions. As for other ores, such proportions vary geographically with
substantial differences in composition and hence commercial value. For particular
applications some of these are now required in a pure form, which creates a high
demand for some REE, unmatched by that for others. As a consequence, there has
been an incongruent situation with some elements in short supply, with a surfeit
of others. Neodymium is driving the market at present, whereas cerium must be
stockpiled.
3.2.4Accompany Metals in Non-ferrous Smelters
Figure 3.10 shows a logarithmic plot of annual production of metals against

Clarkes number after Masuko [10]. There is a good relationship between both
axes, which means that we produce more amounts of metals which are rich
in crust. And much more amounts of chalcophile group elements as defined by
Goldschmidt [11] have been also produced. Supply risk of these group metals like
copper, therefore, is easily understood.
It is also found that various accompany metals like as should be treated in
smelting processes.
Non-ferrous metal production in general is a complex process comprised of a
series of sequential operations aimed at the separation of metal units from mined
ore as mentioned before. The first step in the copper production is the separation
of chalcopyrite which is main copper compound in copper ore from primary cop-
per ore. Here, as mentioned before, 99.5% of the gangue material is separated
using floatation technique.
Second stage is the selective refining of those compounds. In case of copper
smelting, iron sulfide is partially oxidized to produce a slag phase and waste gas
stream bearing sulfur dioxide. The melt, referred to as a matte, is then oxidized
Fig.3.10Relationship 10
between annual production Fe
9 Chalcophile group
amounts and Clarkes
numbers Siderophile group
8 Lithophile group S
log T (production. ton / year)
Zn Cu Al
7 Cr Ca
Pb
Ni Ti Mg
6
Sn Zr
Sb Mo
5 As W
Cd Co
4 Hg Nb V
Bi Li
Au Ta
3 Se Y
In Be
2 Te REE
Pt
Ga
1 Tl
0
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
log K (ppm)
3.2Technologies 43
to copper metal. The waste gas from further oxidation contains additional sulfur
dioxide together with the oxide from of less noble metals as fume. Finally, the
impure copper is purified in an electro-refining process and separated from more
noble metals contained in the mineral including precious metals such as silver
and gold. Emission include the minor elements like arsenic, antimony, bismuths,
selenium and tellurium. These accompany metals are sometimes benefit but some-
times cost. Especially hazardous elements like As and Hg always need treatment
and fixation cost. Now copper grade in ore has been getting lower and impurity
grade has become higher than those of old time. We have to consider how to treat
and fix them more seriously. Cooperation among copper smelting, zinc smelter
and lead smelting, therefore, becomes very important. Each smelting system has
several processes to treat those minor element. Schematic presentation for combi-
nation between each smelter is shown in Fig.3.11. Copper concentrate contains a
certain amount lead and Zinc with minor elements and other zinc and lead concen-
trates also contains copper. So, copper smelter produces by-products which con-
tains lead and zinc, and zinc smelter also produces by-products containing copper
and lead, and same situation is found in lead smelter. So, minor elements are well
recovered in the combination of non-ferrous smelters. It is also important point
in the non-ferrous industry. To achieve this, we must make effective use of our
existing recycling system and methods. It is difficult to recycle sufficient minor
metals to justify creating new infrastructure only for recycling. We must consider
new systems after thoroughly checking which elements are being recovered in the
existing non-ferrous metal smelting industry. Substantial minor rare metal recov-
ery is done during the processing of waste products that contain these and related
elements. In particular, gold, silver, PGMs and selenium and tellurium are con-
tained in minerals as non-ferrous metal smelting impurities, and these have been
Copper concentrate
Cu, Au, Ag, PGM.

Ni, Co, Cd, As, Se, Te
Shredder dust Copper Smelting
Sulfuric acid
Fly ash Cu Pb
Zn Cu Lead concentrate
Zinc concentrate
Pb
EAF dust Zinc Smelting Lead Smelting
Pb, Sn, Bi, Sb
Zn
Zn, In, Ga Waste lead battery
More than 20 metals can be recovered, except RE, W, Mo,Mn, Cr, Nb, Ta and Li
Fig.3.11Base and minor metals recovered from primary and secondary resources in non-fer-
rous industry
Cd Sludge Zn Slime (Zn, Lead Slime Sb Slime Sn Slime Ni Slime

(Cd, As, Cu) Cu) (Pb, Sb, Bi, In, Cu) (Sb, Bi) (Sn, Pb) (Ni,Cu)
Pb
Zn, Cu Sn
Pb Plant
Cd Zn Plant In
Sb, Bi
Cd Plant Sn Plant
Cu Sb Plant
Cu Ni Plant
E Furnace Bi
Cu In Plant
Bi Plant
Flush Furnace
Cu Metal Sb Oxide Sn Metal

Pb Metal
Cd Metal Zn Metal Bi Metal In Metal Ni Metal
HMC Plan
HMC Plan
Others
Fig.3.12Recycling of minor rare metals (HMC factory operation)
recovered over a long time. In addition, recovery of indium, gallium, antimony and
bismuths is ongoing.
Precious metals have high value, and are being recovered outside of non-fer-
rous metal smelting. In addition, there has been discussion regarding recycling ele-
ments used in battery devices (such as minor metals) and in Li batteries, which
are anticipated to grow in volume. Considering the above, it is preferable to recy-
cle used batteries and battery devices by selecting individual items, and separat-
ing components that have an existing recycling process for most of their elements
from those that do not. Such a system would require existing non-ferrous smelting
sites. In summary, to turn byproducts and waste products that appear unlikely to
become natural resources into such resources, so that we can recycle elements that
do not have immediate economic value, we must initially reserve such items and
then stockpile them into future stock.
Precious metals and PGM are recycled well from non-ferrous smelters. Most
recycling resources are put into smelting furnaces like copper converters, and they
are ultimately recovered from copper slimes after copper electrorefining. Some
pre-treatment processes are required for the furnaces.
Other minor metals have been recovered in copper, zinc and lead smelters.
Very recently, Nippon Mining and Metals Co. Ltd. has developed a new factory to
recover not only PGM but other rare metals from a Hitachi refinery [12]. Indium,
nickel, cobalt, arsenic, antimony, bismuths, selenium and tellurium are recovered
in this plant, but not precious metals. Process flow of a Hitachi refinery is shown
in Fig.3.12. Nearly the same characteristics are found in other non-ferrous smelt-
ers. This means that such smelters are important for minor rare-metal recycling.
3.2Technologies 45
Details of recycling technologies will be presented. In Japan, most minor rare met-
als must be imported, for refining, conversion and use.
In many cases, especially for REE, China is the largest consumer, producer, or
both. One might ask the amount of recycling of minor metals relative to their total
supply. Most people cannot answer this question simply. Recycling ratios of minor
metals to the total market are small. However, each minor rare metal has a propor-
tion of that market. The question of how to recycle minor rare metals is also dif-
ficult to answer intelligently, and strongly depends on the element.
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practices in Nigeria. Waste Manag 28:14721479
5. Kahhata R, Williams E (2012) Materials flow analysis of e-waste: domestic flows and exports
of used computers from the United States. Resour Conserv Recycl 67:6774
6. Oguchi M, Kameya T, Yagi S, Urano K (2008) Product flow analysis of various consumer
durables in Japan. Resour Conserv Recycl 52:463480
7. Shiratori T, Nakamura T (2007) The concept of artificial deposit 2nd: estimation of the mate-
rial contents in WEEE and its economical value. J MMIJ 123:171 (in Japanese)
8. Nanjyo M (1988) Urban Mine, New resources for the Year 2000 and Beyond. Bull Res Inst
Min Dress Met, Tohoku University 43:239243 (in Japanese)
9. http://tohoku-timt.net/rare-elements/
10. Masuko N (1994) Metallurgy for man-made resources. In: Shon HY (ed) Metallurgical
resources for early 21st century, TMS
11. Goldschmidt VM (1926) Geochemische Verteiungsgusetze der Elemente, Oslo, Skrifter Norske
VidenskapsAdad
12. http://www.nmm.jx-group.co.jp/industry/ind_03.html
Chapter 4
Summary
We have considered impacts on the environment from a resource perspective.

Environmental problems will continue to be important, but so will natural resource
security. Creating a zero-waste society will help to combat both these issues and
promote sustainable development. Natural resources depend on the land in which
they are found, and can therefore become easily involved in politics. Environmental
sustainability is next to impossible without bold political leadership. Thus, we need
to consider both the environment and natural resource security when formulating
national strategy. Especially in countries like Japan where advanced technology is
everywhere but there are few resources, there is a need to thoroughly debate the use
of technology to create a zero-waste society and create this.
E-scrap recycling is vital to maintaining a supply chain of minor rare metals
in Japan. Non-ferrous smelters are important to advance recycling of basic
and minor rare metals. A new system is necessary for this and greater develop-
ment of recycling technologies for minor rare metals. The above has considered
impacts on environment from a resource perspective. Environmental problems
will continue to be important but natural resource security will also become as
important. Creating a zero-waste society aims to combat both of these issues and
promotes sustainable development. Furthermore, natural resources depend on
the land in which they are found and so can easily become involved in politics.
Environmental sustainability is next to impossible without the bold political lead-
ership. Thus we need to consider both of these when creating our national strategy.
Particularly in countries like Japan where advanced technology is everywhere but
there are next to no resources, there is a need to thoroughly debate how to use
technology to create a zero-waste society and create this.
E-scrap recycling is key point to keep a supply chain of minor rare metals in
Japan. Non-ferrous smelters play an important role to progress recycling of basic
and minor rare metals. A new system is necessary to do it and more developments
of the recycling technologies for minor rare metals.

Index
A H
Accompany Metals, 42 High voltage electric pulse, 38
Artificial deposit, 4 Humans techno-sphere, 9
Artificial resources, 4
I
C Input/Output analysis, 22
Collection system, 35 In-use-stock, 19
Consumption of metals, 7 I/O Tables, 21
Consumption per capita, 15
Cumulative consumption, 7
L
Laser Induced Brake Down Spectroscopy, 40
D Life cycle, 11
Dissipated stock, 20
Domestic potential of urban mine, 18
Domestic urban mining potential, 25 M
Maximum possibility of urban mining, 21
Metal, 15
E Mineral resources, 4
Electrical disintegration, 38 Minor metals, 3
End-of-life, 20
End-of-life flow, 18
End-of-life products, 19 N
Environmental problems, 2 NdFeB magnet, 35
EoL, 11
EOL recycling rate, 14
O
Old scrap collection rate, 14
F Old scrap ratio, 14
Final demand, 10 On-surface stock, 9, 10
G P
Global warming, 1 Platinum group metal (PGM), 2
Grade, 8 Primary stock, 9

Sciences and Technology, DOI 10.1007/978-4-431-55075-4
50 Index
R U
Recoverability rate, 14 Underground stock, 9, 10
Recycled content, 14 United Nations Environment Programme
Recycling input rate, 14 (UNEP), 2
Recycling process efficiency rate, 14 Urban mines, 8
Recycling rate, 14, 26 Used scrap, 10
Reserves, 7 Used stock, 20
Reserve to Stock, 35
3 Rs, 2
W
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
S (WEEE), 33
Scrap recovery per capita, 15
Secondary stock, 9
Semi-processed materials, 10
Small electric appliances, 18
Sorting techniques, 40
System boundary, 21

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SPRINGER BRIEFS IN

APPLIED SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

Urban Mining Systems

ISSN 2191-530X ISSN 2191-5318 (electronic)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014945263

Springer Tokyo Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London

The Author(s) 2015

Printed on acid-free paper

Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

2 Potential of Urban Mine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3 Development of Urban Mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

AbstractHuman beings live in the circumstances which are mainly consist of

Keywords Urban mining ReduceReuseRecycle Artificial deposits

The Author(s) 2015 1

Impact from using energy (emission of CO2)

Consumption of energy for waste treatment

Table1.1Natural and artificial resources

New Material Use

Fig.1.3Supply chain of resources

KeywordsConsumption of metalsOn-surface stockRecycling rateLife-

The urgency of resolving resource issues such as recycling is growing daily. As

The Author(s) 2015 7

Fig.2.1The relation of the

The amount of on-surface stock is only estimated quantitative potential of urban

Cu (Mt) : 48% Zn (Mt) : 60%

Fe (Gt) : 25% Al (Gt) : 11% Ni (Mt) : 38%

W (kt) : 43% Sb (kt) : 72% Bi (kt) : 37%

Cd (kt) : 59% Hg (kt) : 76%

UNEP recycle rate EOL-RR,RC,OSR,

Fig.2.3Recycling rate of metals reported by UNEP [10]

Metal life cycle from UNEP

EOL CR=e/d old scrap recycling rate Rec

Fig.2.4Simplified Life-cycle of recycled material

Fig.2.5Recycling rate of major metals from 1980

Annual aluminum consumption (kg) per capita

Annual copper scrap recovery (kg) per capita

Annual copper consumption (kg) per capita

Annual lead consumption (kg) per capita

amount of consumed metal. The other line describe a (recovered metal)/(consumed

Annual tin scrap recovery (ton) per capita

Annual tin consumption (ton) per capita

2.3Domestic Potential of Urban Mining

2.3.1Flow Estimation Method

The digit of longitudinal axis is different from 1,000ton to 10kg depending on

Au (industrial use) In-use stock 149t End-of-life flow 42t/year

2.3.2Domestic Stock Estimation Method

In the Sect.2.3.1, we discuss the importance of material flow analysis to estimate

PGM (industrial use ) In-use stock 169t End-of-life flow 35.8t/year

Table2.1Calculated export ratio in each industry

Table2.2Result of estimation of the accumulation of each metal in Japan

2.3.3Domestic Stock Estimation

ore metal parts products

mining refiner manufacturer assembler use Used stock recycler

export export export

Fig.2.14System boundary of the domestic accumulation of metal in a country

Total accumulation in Japan compared with

Fig.2.16Corresponding percentages of accumulation in Japan compared with the amount of

2.3.4Comparing with Activities in Japan

Table2.3Recycling amount and ratio of metals at 2006 in Japan

1. Halada K, Shimada M, Ijima K (2008) Forecasting of the consumption of metals up to 2050.

Abstract How to develop urban mine is shown as an analogy of how to develop

KeywordsEconomics of urban mine WEEEE-scrapMinor rare metals

3.1.1General Economic Considerations

2.3Domestic Potential of Urban Mining

2.3.1Flow Estimation Method

2.3.2Domestic Stock Estimation Method

2.3.3Domestic Stock Estimation

2.3.4Comparing with Activities in Japan

3.1.1General Economic Considerations

3.2.1Analogy of Natural Ore Processing

3.2.2Physical Separation Techniques

3.2.3Smelting and Extraction Techniques

3.2.4Accompany Metals in Non-ferrous Smelters