Linyi's Lishan district turns recycled metals into an 'urban mine'

Lishan district in Linyi, East China's Shandong province, has built a national demonstration base for "urban mining," turning a region without mineral resources into a hub for recycled nonferrous metals.

The East China Nonferrous Metals City in Liguan town is home to more than 1,200 businesses and over 10,000 direct employees. Monthly throughput exceeds 6,000 tons, and the base links more than 30,000 recycling points nationwide and partners across 13 provinces. Its materials feed Linyi's 300-billion-yuan ($42.2 billion) new steel industrial cluster.

"Urban mining is mining the city — the metals in discarded appliances, wires and machinery are the ore," said Wu Daming, general manager of a copper processing company in the park. His firm produces 100 tons of copper rods a day from recycled copper.

The park has pursued digital and green upgrading. A "five flows in one" platform integrates business, logistics, capital, information and invoice data to make every transaction traceable. A recycled metals green sorting center is under construction with an investment of about 100 million yuan  in annual output value and create 300 jobs.

Bai Yuhua, deputy general manager of the park, said the target for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period is 100 billion yuan ($14.08 billion) in trade volume and 10 million tons of throughput. The district has also assigned a dedicated liaison officer to each project valued at 100 million yuan or more.

Editor：韩蒙蒙