Funny News for a Change: Japan Finds more Gold in Sewage than Gold Mines

More gold is found in Japan's sewage per year, than actual top gold mine's outputs. The raw article below from reuters,

www.iii.co.uk...

A sewage treatment facility in central Japan has recorded a higher gold yield from sludge than can be found at some of the world's best mines.

The facility recently recorded finding 1,890 grammes of gold per tonne of sludge incinerated.
That is a far higher gold content than Japan's Hishikari Mine, one of the world's top gold mines, owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd, which contains 20-40 grammes of the precious metal per tonne of ore.

My question is, how do they "mine" this out of the sewage, who gets that wonderful job?

It expects to earn about 15 million yen for the fiscal year to the end of March from the gold it has retrieved from the ashes of incinerated sludge.

It seems being in the sewage business is extremely profitable in Japan.

On a side note:

How many people here, know that in your old computers, you do not use anymore ..................... quite a bit of gold is in them?

How many have just thrown out their computers, without getting gold and other metals out of them?

How many of you have been watching gold prices, over the last week?

hint: Jan 14th it was at $816.00
This morning it is at: $923.00

You figure that one out. Also look at silver....... going up and up.

I LOVE this - Japan was the leader in recycling batteries and now this.

We've been saying for decades that we'd be mining landfills at some point.

Maybe we're almost there.

reply to post by questioningall


I am looking for the article right now, but it was done by TIME I believe.. about us sending our old computers as trash to China.

Once there little Chinese kids tear apart the computers, collect the metals, then toss them into a dump while the metals go to a recycling plant to be smelted down.

If I find it, I will post it here.

At least they don't pan in the raw sewage for it.

I think there is a chemical extraction process that is used in gold mines that would also work in the sludge.

i dont quite understand how its ending up in the sewer
that would mean we are eating gold
gold from computer boards does not end up in a sewer system does it

or is the sewer somehow running threw a vein of gold

Originally posted by dean007
i dont quite understand how its ending up in the sewer
that would mean we are eating gold

i'm wondering the same thing.
isn't that what we should be discussing here?
I'm more in wonder as to why other people here haven't been asking themselves that as opposed to talking about computer trash.

this is the human waste system we're talking about.
not the landfills.

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This is not gold ore that has to be extracted. They incinerate the sludge and sift the powdered ash for solids that survive the heat. It is actual gold items that are lost and dumped in the sewers. How many rings get set next to the sink and slide down the drain? Or gold teeth, gold fillings, earrings,gold jewelry lost, gold coins, bits of gold and other metals from electronics parts. Ever sat down on a toilet with something in your back pocket? Wallets, gold pen, phone? Sometimes those fall out and end up in the toilet. They also find valuable gold coins sometimes.
How many divorced people keep that ring? Not all, many end up getting the the old burial at sea in the toilet.

and here where i live i pan gold in the river about 4 blocks away from where they process sewage i should just be panning the turds lol

how do you like my new gold necklace it smells like farts

[edit on 1-2-2009 by dean007]