Super Dragon Technology (SDTI) takes electronics waste and uses chemical and electrolysis processes to extract liquid gold from precious metals, which then becomes gold sand and is refined and formed into bars.
The company uses techniques and equipment from Germany and Japan to provide industrial waste disposal services for electronics, semiconductor, optoelectronics and printed circuit-board industries, The Korea Times reported. Suppliers can take back the waste as industrial gold powder or sell it on.
SDTI’s factory near Taipei also has a machine that inhales dust from the grinding process to remove harmful substances, while plastics and glass fibres it processes are used to make art. Its artificial marble, wall bricks, and pedestrian paving have each earned environmental protection marks.
The company says that the Taiwanese government is holding it back from expanding “due to environmental concerns”, according to Strategy Adviser Cosmas Lu.
“We wish for a constructive discussion within Taiwan on the potential import of selective e-waste from neighboring countries. After all, just keeping waste out of one’s doorstep does not help our overall environment.”
The company was founded in September 1996, is publicly listed in Taiwan, and made around $88.8 million (€77.6 million) in annual sales last year.