The Challenge of the Recycled Mine Park Project

The Challenge of the Recycled Mine Park Project

The Recycle Mine Park Project is a policy formulated by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) (now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) in 1995 to promote waste treatment and resource recycling through the use of abandoned mines. It is a grand attempt to revive abandoned mine sites throughout Japan as new centers for resource recycling. Under the plan, mining facilities across Japan will be developed as recycling centers to convert e-waste and industrial waste into resources. At the Mochikoshi Mine in Izu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Chugai Mining has established technology to recover gold and silver from e-waste, and is still producing approximately 100 kg of gold and 15 tons of silver per month. In addition, the Northern Akita Eco-Town is recycling rare metals such as lithium and cobalt using mining technology, and 36 mining facilities across Japan are participating in this project, processing approximately 9.8 million tons of waste annually.

In 2001, the Basic Law for Establishing a Recycling-Oriented Society was enacted, and the expansion of the Recycle Mine Park project was driven by policy support. Former mine sites that were once considered unnecessary were transformed into core centers for the realization of a sustainable society. And after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, the former Matsuo Mine in Iwate Prefecture and the former Hosokura Mine in Miyagi Prefecture were utilized as centers for processing disaster waste, contributing to reconstruction assistance in the affected areas. In the process of accepting debris generated by the earthquake, recycling technology was further developed, opening a new path for simultaneously processing disaster waste and reusing resources.

The benefits of the Recycle Mine Park project are manifold. First is the revitalization of the local economy. Mines that were once abandoned as industry declined have come back to life as resource recycling centers, creating local employment. In addition, the promotion of resource recycling is helping to secure domestic resources by transforming waste into new resources. In particular, the recycling of rare metals is progressing, reducing Japan's dependence on overseas resources, which is resulting in a more stable supply of resources. Another important role is as a base for waste disposal in times of disaster, and former mining facilities in various regions were utilized during the earthquake reconstruction efforts. In this way, the Recycle Mine Park project is functioning as an advanced effort to balance environmental protection and economic development.

As information related to this plan, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's "Northern Akita Eco-Town Project" provides a detailed description of the development of metal resource recycling technology using mining technology. In addition, the document on "Eco-Town Project" shows the relationship between each municipality's eco-town plan and the Recycle Mine Park Plan. Furthermore, the official website of Chugai Mining Co., Ltd. provides details on the history of the Mochikoshi Mine and its gold and silver recovery technology. In addition, the Ministry of the Environment's "Environmental and Social Innovation from Eco-Town" also provides information on the environmental technology of the Recycle Mine Park project and its linkage with Eco-Town.

The Recycle Mine Park Plan is a policy to promote resource recycling by utilizing former mine sites, especially the processing of e-waste and disaster waste, and the recovery of rare metals. Approximately 9.8 million tons of waste are processed annually, mainly at the Mochikoshi Mine and the Northern Akita Eco-Town, where sustainable recycling activities are carried out with the development of environmental technology and policy support. This initiative is a challenge to build a resource-recycling society of the future while utilizing the legacy of the former mining industry. The transformation of a relic of the past, an abandoned mine, into the foundation of a recycling-oriented society with new possibilities is truly worthy of being called the "Rebirth of an Abandoned Mine.