Japan’s Tanaka Precious Metal Group has partnered with Malaysian recycler MEP this month to construct a precious metal recycling facility in Malaysia.
Operating under the venture Tanaka MEP Refinery, the site aims to launch commercial operations in April 2029 to supply gold and other metals to the semiconductor industry.
The plant will extract high-value materials from scrap generated during the fabrication of semiconductors and electronic components.
Tanaka MEP Refinery plans to process manufacturing waste directly from regional semiconductor and electronics assemblers. Recovered gold will feed back into the component supply chain, giving chipmakers a regional source of raw material.
Production of microelectronics demands steady volumes of high-purity precious metals for bonding wires and plating. By processing scrap locally in Southeast Asia, the venture intends to reduce transit times and shipping costs associated with returning scrap to smelters in East Asia.
Packaging and testing facilities across Malaysia handle a substantial share of global semiconductor back-end assembly. Securing precious metal feedstock close to these assembly lines offers chipmakers tighter control over material inventories.
Competition for high-grade scrap will test the new venture. Competing smelters across Japan already purchase industrial e-scrap from Malaysian factories, leaving Tanaka MEP Refinery to secure reliable collection contracts with local manufacturers before the plant starts up.
Industrial demand for localized recycling grew as manufacturers expanded assembly footprints over the past decade. Tanaka previously handled recovery primarily through plants in East Asia before deciding to build refining capacity in Malaysia.
Commercial operations are targeted to start in April 2029, with construction timelines and plant capacity metrics to be determined as facility development begins.
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