Tens of millions of tons of annual demand from mines and refineries can be displaced through metals recovery from urban waste.

But the industry overall features high operating costs, and low profits.

Most of the feedstock for urban mines are from junked cars and trucks, especially EV’s.

China began development of their urban mining industry over two decades ago, and today has 85% of the world’s recycling capacity.

Western firms are far behind, and are unlikely to catch up. China’s urban mining industries benefit from its dominance in EV and battery production, and in electronics.

Closing scene, pedestrian streets, Chengdu
Resources and links:

Urban Mining: The Hidden Treasure in Your City’s Waste
https://www.elemental.biz/urban-mining-the-hidden-treasure-in-your-citys-waste/5670/

Recycling can bring multiple benefits in ensuring reliable and sustainable critical mineral supplies
https://www.iea.org/reports/recycling-of-critical-minerals/executive-summary

Printed circuit board recycling
https://scispace.com/pdf/printed-circuit-board-recycling-physicochemical-and-economic-4l9b0kpklg.pdf

China as a blueprint: From waste importer to recycling world champion
https://felss.com/en/blog/urban-mining-waste-is-the-new-ore/

Urban Mining: China’s Dead EV Batteries
https://futurenowgreennews.com/urban-mining-chinas-dead-ev-batteries/

L’engagement en faveur de l’économie circulaire et de l’exploitation minière urbaine favorise le recyclage du cuivre en Chine
https://internationalcopper.org/fr/resource/commitment-to-the-circular-economy-and-urban-mining-drives-copper-recycling-in-china/

China embraces new opportunities by tapping into ‘urban mines’
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202411/05/WS6729e437a310f1265a1cb975.html

Research on Urban Mining Development in chinafile:///C:/Users/dell/Downloads/Research%20on%20Urban%20Mining%20Development%20in%20China.pdf

Research on Urban Mining Development in China
https://www.engineering.org.cn/sscae/EN/10.15302/J-SSCAE-2017.04.015

Electric Vehicle Battery Recycling Market (2026 - 2033)
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/ev-battery-recycling-market-report

Why is it so hard for the US to get urban mining right?
https://www.latitudemedia.com/news/why-is-it-so-hard-for-the-us-to-get-urban-mining-right/

CHART: China’s global electric car dominance
https://www.adamasintel.com/charts-china-global-electric-car-dominance/

China’s Monopoly on Critical Minerals
https://www.statista.com/chart/35398/china-dominant-share-in-global-mining-production-of-critical-minerals

Visualizing China’s Dominance in Clean Energy Metals
https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-chinas-dominance-in-clean-energy-metals/

New mines take nearly 18 years to build in 2020-23
https://theoregongroup.com/investment-news/new-mines-take-nearly-18-years-to-build-in-2020-23/

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