Thinking of throwing out your old cellphone? Think again. Maybe you should mine it first for gold, silver, copper and a host of other metals embedded in the electronics — many of which are enjoying near-record prices. It’s called ”urban mining”, scavenging through the scrap metal in old electronic products in search of such gems as iridium and gold.
Opec oil producers kept the heat under strong crude prices on Wednesday as ministers arrived in Japan for a meeting that looks likely to keep stiff output limits in place. Opec appears in no mood to make concessions to the industrialised powers that buy its oil, despite concern that high energy costs are stunting global economic recovery.