TANAKA Precious Metal Recycling Malaysia – TANAKA PRECIOUS METAL TECHNOLOGIES Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Koichiro Tanaka), a company engaged in the industrial precious metals business of TANAKA, announced that it will establish TANAKA MEP REFINERY SDN. BHD., a joint venture company that will engage in precious metal recycling and refining, with Malaysia-based resource recovery company MEP Enviro Technology Sdn. Bhd. (MEP).
The new company will be established in Batu Kawan Industrial Park in Penang, Malaysia, with TANAKA’s holding a 66.7% stake and MEP holding a 33.3% stake. Its business activities will include the analysis of recovered materials, precious metal refining to a purity of 4N (99.99%), and the manufacture, import, export, and sale of precious metal products. The facility is scheduled to begin operations in April 2029.
On October 8, 2026, a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the new facility was held at the planned construction site. In addition to representatives from TANAKA and MEP, the ceremony was attended by distinguished guests including Tun Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Ramli bin Ngah Talib, Governor of Penang; YAB Tuan Chow Kon Yeow, Chief Minister of Penang; Shinya Machida, Consul-General of Japan in Penang, and other state government officials.
Business of TANAKA MEP REFINERY SDN. BHD.
With a concentration of semiconductor, electronic component, and other manufacturing industries in Malaysia and across the ASEAN region, demand is growing for the recovery and recycling of precious metal-containing scrap generated during manufacturing processes. At the same time, amid increasingly stringent environmental regulations and a growing focus on circular resource use, waste such as end-of-life electronic equipment (e-waste) is expected to be properly processed and recycled within the countries and regions where it is generated. Global companies are also pursuing initiatives to support a circular economy, further increasing the importance of recovering and reusing resources containing precious metals.
TANAKA and MEP entered into a technical assistance agreement for precious metal recovery in August 2024 and have since worked together to advance precious metal recycling in Malaysia. TANAKA MEP REFINERY SDN. BHD. will receive recovered materials preprocessed by MEP and carry out precious metal analysis and refining; manufacture, import, export, and sell precious metal products; and trade, lease, and store precious metal bullion. In the initial stage of operations, the company plans to produce gold with a purity of 4N (99.99%) and potassium gold cyanide (PGC) for the electrical and electronics (E&E) and semiconductor industries.
By combining TANAKA’s long-standing expertise in precious metal refining and processing with its know-how in quality control, production management, and other areas, the companies will establish an integrated framework for precious metal recycling within Malaysia.
To make effective use of finite precious metal resources and contribute to a circular economy and stable precious metal procurement, TANAKA has been developing a global precious metal recycling network, with recovery and refining facilities in Japan, Europe, North America, China, Taiwan, and other regions. The establishment of the new company in Malaysia will further strengthen TANAKA’s precious metal recycling operations in the ASEAN region.
