Hundreds of IC chips hidden in a mobile phone contain a minuscule amount of gold in their plastic package, in the shape of internal bonding wires. This gold can be extracted quite easily (well, compared to the traditional gold mines where thousands of emanciated mine slaves toiled), and is much appreciated by the mobile shop folks as a windfall. The only problem is to collect enough discarded mobile phones.

Yield from gold mines is pretty flimsy. The best gold mines, generally hydrothermal deposit mines, give around 50 to 80g of gold from 1 ton of ore. If you declared you had extracted 200 to 300g of pure gold from a ton of ore, everybody would call you a megalomaniac Munchausen. This miracle occurs daily, though, in the junkyard where all those discarded mobile phones are piled up. Continue>>

Related posts:

1. Mobile Phone Makers Rush To 3G
2. Dowa to Recycle Mobile Phones
3. Samsung’s 5-Megapixel Cam-Phone
4. Panasonic to Consolidate 3G Mobile Phone Production in Japan
5. Japan Mobile Phone Shipments Up 19%

Some sage advise when entering new turf; Stop, Look and Listen.. it’s also good to secure a local guide. Japan is the cradle of mobile civilization – we have been dedicated to this space since 2001 – trust our archives here offer some useful material.

Domestic activities continue to set the pace, and sharp players are looking at global markets. We have hard-earned industry expertise and trusted network of contacts with access to advanced intell. and potential deal flow. Need a lift.. Ok, buckle-up!