In Our Mutual Friend, Dickens chronicled the life of “the Golden Dustman,” and his monumental heap of garbage. Now this:
HT: Felix Salmon, Portfolio.com: Market Movers, and beyond.Japanese Garbage Datapoints of the Day
The value of indium in Japan's garbage dumps: $833 million
The value of lead in Japan's garbage dumps: $15 billion
The value of silver in Japan's garbage dumps: $30 billion
The value of gold in Japan's garbage dumps: $178 billion
The value of copper in Japan's garbage dumps: $283 billion
The 6,800 tons of gold in Japan's "urban mines" compares to 765 tons in Japan's official reserves; it's more even than the official reserves of Germany and the IMF combined.
