久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

您現在的位置: Language Tips> Audio & Video> China Daily Media News  
   
 





 
There's gold in them thar cell phones
[ 2008-04-28 14:01 ]

Download

Thinking of throwing out your old cell phone? Think again. Maybe you should mine it first for gold, silver, copper and a host of other metals embedded in the electronics - many of which hit near-record prices.

It's called "urban mining", scavenging through the scrap metal in old electronic products in search of such gems as iridium and gold, and it is a growth industry around the world as metal prices skyrocket.

The materials recovered are reused in new electronics parts and the gold and other precious metals are melted down and sold as ingots to jewelers and investors as well as back to manufacturers who use gold in the circuit boards of mobile phones because gold conducts electricity even better than copper.

"It can be precious or minor metals, we want to recycle whatever we can," said Tadahiko Sekigawa, president of Eco-System Recycling Co.

A ton of ore from a gold mine produces just 5 grams of gold on average, whereas a ton of discarded mobile phones can yield 150 grams or more, according to a study by Yokohama Metal Co Ltd, another recycling firm.

The same volume of discarded mobile phones also contains around 100 kg of copper and 3 kg of silver, among other metals.

Recycling has gained importance as metal prices hit record highs. Gold is trading at around $890 an ounce, after hitting a historic high of $1,030.80 in March.

Copper and tin are also around record highs and silver prices are well above long-term averages.

Recycling electronics makes sense for Japan which has few natural resources to feed its huge electronics industry but does have tens of millions of old cell phones and other obsolete consumer electronic gadgets thrown away every year.

"To some it's just a mountain of garbage, but for others it's a gold mine," said Nozomu Yamanaka, manager of the Eco-Systems recycling plant where mounds of discarded cell phones and other electronics gadgets are taken apart for their metal value.

At the factory in Honjo, 80 km southwest of Tokyo, 34-year-old Susumu Arai harvests some of that bounty.

A ribbon of molten gold flows into a mould where it sizzles and spits fire for a few minutes before solidifying into a dull yellow slab, on its way to becoming a 3 kg gold bar, worth around $90,000 at current prices.

The scrap electronics and other industrial waste is first sorted and dismantled by hand. It is then immersed in chemicals to dissolve unwanted materials and the remaining metal is refined.

Eco-System, established 20 years ago near Tokyo, typically produces about 200-300 kg of gold bars a month with a 99.99 percent purity, worth about $5.9 million to $8.8 million.

That's about the same output as a small gold mine.

But despite growing interest in the environment and recycling, the industry struggles to get enough old mobile phones to feed its recycling plants.

Japan's 128 million population uses their cell phones for an average of two years and eight months.

That's a lot of cell phones discarded every year, yet only 10-20 percent are recycled as people often opt to store them in their cupboards due to concerns about their personal data on their phones, said Yoshinori Yajima, a director at Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Only 558 tons of old phones were collected for recycling in the year to March 2007, down a third from three years earlier, industry figures show.

(英語點津  Celene 編輯)

About the broadcaster:

There's gold in them thar cell phones

Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries

 
英語點津版權說明:凡注明來源為“英語點津:XXX(署名)”的原創作品,除與中國日報網簽署英語點津內容授權協議的網站外,其他任何網站或單位未經允許不得非法盜鏈、轉載和使用,違者必究。如需使用,請與010-84883631聯系;凡本網注明“來源:XXX(非英語點津)”的作品,均轉載自其它媒體,目的在于傳播更多信息,其他媒體如需轉載,請與稿件來源方聯系,如產生任何問題與本網無關;本網所發布的歌曲、電影片段,版權歸原作者所有,僅供學習與研究,如果侵權,請提供版權證明,以便盡快刪除。
相關文章 Related Story
 
 
 
本頻道最新推薦
 
Walking in the US first lady's shoes
“準確無誤”如何表達
英國新晉超女蘇珊大媽改頭換面
豬流感 swine flu
你有lottery mentality嗎
翻吧推薦
 
論壇熱貼
 
別亂扔垃圾。怎么譯這個亂字呀?
橘子,橙子用英文怎么區分?
看Gossip Girl學英語
端午節怎么翻譯?
母親,您在天堂還好嗎?

 

主站蜘蛛池模板: 北岛玲亚洲一区在线观看 | 九九久久免费视频 | 日韩久久精品 | 日本一级特黄在线播放 | 亚洲视频一区二区三区 | 精品欧美一区二区在线观看欧美熟 | 欧美成人一级视频 | 日本久久香蕉一本一道 | 欧美三级做爰全过程 | 高清欧美日本视频免费观看 | 欧美区一区 | 亚洲字幕波多野结衣作品 | 大陆精品自在线拍国语 | 性欧美另类老妇高清 | 国产成人精品日本亚洲麻豆 | 亚洲国产一区二区三区四区 | 一区一精品 | 神马最新午夜限制片 | 手机免费毛片 | 成人欧美视频在线观看播放 | 边接电话边做国语高清对白 | 三上悠亚免费一区二区在线 | 毛片3| 欧美日本一区视频免费 | 久久经典视频 | 韩国福利影视一区二区三区 | 亚洲综合a | 兔费看全黄三级 | 欧美a大片欧美片 | 免费一级在线 | 久久精品6 | 99久久免费看国产精品 | 国产成人综合欧美精品久久 | xxxx欧美视频| 在线国产二区 | 国产精品成人一区二区三区 | 精品久久成人 | 中文字幕天堂最新版在线网 | 青青视频国产依人在线 | 国产一区二三区 | 亚洲99久久久久综合 |