Tanaka builds global precious metals recycling network

Tanaka Holdings Co. Ltd., a Japan-based producer of recycled-content precious metals, says it is actively encouraging the recycling of gold, silver and platinum group metals (PMGs) at its global network of six— soon to be seven—refineries.

Those facilities include its North Attleborough plant in Massachusetts, Marin plant in Switzerland, two facilities in Japan and one each in Singapore and Taiwan. The firm also is in the process of building a new refinery in China’s Sichuan province.

The new facility is being built by Tanaka’s existing Chengdu Guangming Paite Precious Metal Co. Ltd. affiliate company in China, with the new affiliate in Sichuan to be known as Ya’an Guangming Paite Precious Metal Co. Ltd.

Tanaka says its new refinery in China is expected to begin full-scale operations in the summer of 2024 at the soonest. A total estimated investment of $34.1 million to build the Ya’an Guangming Paite Precious Metal facility will be shared between Tanaka and affiliate companies.

“This new company will manufacture precious metal compounds for various catalysts and plating and will also recover and refine precious metals from production scrap and used catalysts by introducing Tanaka’s precious metal recycling technology,” the firm states.

“Unlike in other countries and regions, the precious metals business in China should ideally be completely integrated with the recovery and refining of precious metals and the manufacture of industrial precious metals products.

“This new company will introduce the recycling process that Tanaka has cultivated over many years in the precious metal business in Japan to establish a system capable of recovering precious metals that have not been recovered up to now. Through the new company, Tanaka will establish a one-stop precious metal recycling scheme that can be completely integrated within China, further developing its precious metal recycling business.”

Part of its corporate missions, Tanaka says, is a belief that precious metal recycling will help reduce the use of mined precious metals in industrial products, “thereby helping to reduce environmental impact.”