TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Nippon Mining & Metals Co Ltd plans to open the world's first plant that will extract lithium and manganese from used lithium-ion batteries on a commercial scale, the company said on Thursday.
Metals recycling is an important industry for resource-poor Japan which imports the bulk of the raw materials needed by its top manufacturers.
The company, which belongs to the Nippon Mining Holdings Inc group, said it would launch a test plant to extract the two metals along with cobalt and nickel before beginning commercial operations in 2011.
Demand for lithium-ion batteries is widely expected to grow due to their use in electric cars, as well as mobile phones and laptop computers.
Nissan Motor, Japan's No. 3 automaker, told Reuters last month that it would use about 4 kg of lithium in each electric car battery produced at its new UK plant.
Japan has established a successful recycling programme for indium, a minor metal that is essential in the production of liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for flat-panel screens in television and computers.
(Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Joseph Radford)
((miho.yoshikawa@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3 6441 1854; Reuters Messaging: miho.yoshikawa.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: JAPAN METALS/RECYCLING
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