Ambipar (AMBP3) soars in 2024, setting its sights on urban mining. The company’s stock price skyrocketed from R$15.58 in January to R$134.96 by December 27, marking a 730.52% increase.
This remarkable growth stems from Ambipar’s innovative approach to environmental solutions. November saw Ambipar launch Latin America’s largest urban mining plant in São José dos Campos, São Paulo.
The facility focuses on reverse manufacturing of electronics and large appliances. Ambipar expanded its capacity from 30,000 to 80,000 tons of e-waste annually, investing R$100.00 million ($ 0.02 billion) in the project.
Urban mining extracts valuable resources from discarded city waste. Reverse manufacturing involves dismantling and repurposing products at the end of their lifecycle.
Marcelo Oliveira, head of Ambipar Environment’s urban mining unit, explains their pioneering approach. The company ensures proper collection, brand protection, and environmentally sound disposal of equipment.
The São José dos Campos plant now processes medium and large appliances like stoves, washing machines, and microwaves. Ambipar separates materials such as plastic, iron, aluminum, copper, brass, electronic boards, and stainless steel.
However, these materials reenter the market for new product manufacturing, supporting a circular economy. Ambipar’s strategy targets various metals, including gold.
The precious metal, currently priced at $2,632 per troy ounce, offers portfolio protection due to its lower volatility. Traditional mining yields 2 to 3 grams of gold per ton of ore. Urban mining, however, can extract 30 to 50 grams of gold per ton of electronic waste.
This extraction rate translates to 1 to 1.5 troy ounces of gold per ton, potentially worth $2,632 to $3,948 at current prices. While Ambipar doesn’t disclose estimated returns, they follow a 3 to 5-year payback policy for investments.
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