GEORGE TOWN: Industrial waste from Penang’s semiconductor and electrical and electronics (E&E) sector could be turned back into usable gold under a RM70 million precious metal refinery being developed in Batu Kawan, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
The new facility, a joint venture between Japan-based Tanaka Precious Metal Technologies Co Ltd and Penang-based MEP Enviro Technology Sdn Bhd, will be Malaysia’s first 4N precious metal refining factory when completed. The term 4N, or “four nines”, refers to a purity level of 99.99%, meaning impurities are limited to 0.01%.
“Gold is not only for jewellery. It is a critical input for the semiconductor industry. Gold and a gold compound are used to plate and connect the tiny components inside the chips that Penang makes and ships to the world,“ Chow said at Tanaka MEP Refinery Sdn Bhd’s groundbreaking ceremony in Batu Kawan recently.
He said the refinery would help localise a critical input for the semiconductor industry, reducing supply-chain risks and potentially allowing manufacturers to obtain materials more quickly and at lower cost.
“When a critical input travels thousands of kilometres to reach our factories, every link in that chain is a point of risk,” he said.
The project will also support “urban mining”, in which precious metals are recovered from electronic and industrial waste for reuse in manufacturing.
“With this refinery, gold recovered from Penang’s own factories will be refined here in Batu Kawan to 99.99% purity and returned to the very same factories that need it,” Chow said.
The new plant will add high-purity refining to MEP’s existing precious metal recovery operations.
The company opened a RM100 million recovery plant at Bukit Minyak Industrial Park in August 2024, specialising in recovering gold, silver, platinum and palladium from electronic and industrial waste.
Under an earlier collaboration, MEP recovered and concentrated precious metals in Malaysia before sending the material to Tanaka’s facilities in Japan for high-purity refining. The new Batu Kawan facility will enable this refining process to be carried out locally.
The project involves a total planned investment of RM70 million, with RM35 million allocated for the first phase. The facility will initially produce high-purity gold and potassium gold cyanide for the E&E and semiconductor industries, with commercial operations expected to begin in the first quarter of 2029.
Chow said the refinery would help retain more economic value in Penang while reducing waste and supporting a circular economy. “That means less mining, less waste, and more value kept in Penang. This is the circular economy in practice, not on paper.”
He added that the project supported the Penang2030 economic agenda and the National Semiconductor Strategy by strengthening the supply chain for the state’s semiconductor and E&E industries.
Tanaka has been involved in the precious metals industry since 1885, while MEP was founded in Bukit Minyak in 2005.
Chow said Japanese companies had contributed to Penang’s industrial development since the establishment of its free industrial zones in the 1970s.
He urged local E&E and semiconductor manufacturers to use the refinery to recover and reuse precious metals from their production waste.
“To every E&E and semiconductor company in Penang, look first to partners here at home. Send your recoverable materials to be refined here. Buy back the gold that was yours to begin with. Every gram we recover and refine in Penang is value that stays in Penang, with our workers, our suppliers and our people,“ Chow said.
The state government, he added, would continue to support investments that strengthen Penang’s supply chain and position in high-value manufacturing.