To provide a valuable metal recovery apparatus and a valuable metal recovery method by which valuable metal can be recovered inexpensively from a compound material containing polymer material and the valuable metal.

The compound material is supplied at fixed quantity to a thermal decomposition apparatus 3 constituted of a hermetically sealed vessel having a conveyance mechanism and is melted, by heating in a state shut off from outside air, into a melt, and the melt is formed into a compound solid body by water cooling. Owing to the thermal decomposition treatment of the polymer material, the valuable metal contained in the compound solid body becomes more concentrated than that before the treatment and, as a result, by refining this compound solid body, the valuable metal can be obtained at a lower cost than by smelting ore. An extruder is applicable to the thermal decomposition apparatus 3, and the resulting thermal decomposition gas can be utilized as an energy source for a drying step.