Japanese industry recovered 51.4 billion yen (£396 million) of precious and rare metals from waste catalyst in fiscal 2010 ending in March 2011, new figures show.

This reflects a 7.8 per cent increase compared to the 2009 fiscal year level, according to data from the Japan Catalyst Recovering Association.

The higher price for precious metals such as palladium is one of the reasons for the substantial increase in value.

According to the Japan Metal Bulletin, metal recovery from other sources was 211.9 billion yen (£1.63 billion), which is 6.8 per cent higher than the fiscal 2009 level.

Demand for platinum in jewellery manufacturing in Japan declined last year.

However, production using recycled platinum from old jewellery increased by 32 per cent across Japan and China, to 745,000 ounces.

Platinum purchasing was also substantially higher in 2010 compared to 2008, although the precious metal traded at a similar price.

Source:

Japan Recovers 7.8% More Metals from Used Catalyst in F2010 (16/06/11) 

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