A sewage company in the Nagano prefecture of Japan has a golden idea. Rather than just let the yellow mellow, Nagano Prefecture Suwa Construction Office has
decided to mine the city's raw sewage for gold.
And not just from swallowed jewellery that made the trip south! According to the Pink Tentacle, "the Suwa Basin is home to numerous precision machining companies, metal plating facilities and hot springs, which may explain the high concentration of gold in the wastewater sludge."
The plan wasn't initially met with accolades, as the cost of the actual mining was thought to outweigh any benefits. But apparently the plan is working. The company has mined enough of the precious metal to expect the first month's profit to total 5 million yen -- that is, $56,000. In fact, by this spring, the company expects five tons of molten fly ash to yield fifteen million yen, or $167,000. With three tons of ash mined per day, this looks like a promising figure. There seems to be a lot of shine-ola in that shit.
