Britain's Royal Mint strikes gold in electronic waste
The mint uses a patented chemical process to recover gold and silver from devices, with 22.3% of e-waste properly collected and recycled in 2022, the United Nations said.
- The Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales, is recycling electronic waste to create gold jewelry for its '886' brand, using a facility that opened two years ago.
- Traditional gold recovery involves smelting at high temperatures or corrosive acid mixtures that generate hazardous waste; the Royal Mint instead uses a patented room-temperature process developed by Canadian company Excir.
- Each recycled Bank of England office phone contains around 30 milligrammes of gold worth around $4.00, while the plant processes around 4,000 tonnes of electronic waste annually containing "about 400 kilos of gold," said Sean Millard, development director.
- Worldwide, only 22.3 percent of electronic waste was properly collected and recycled in 2022 according to the United Nations, while jeweler John Powell said, "I wouldn't be able to tell you whether I'm working with the recycled or the normal."
- Chemical analyst Kate Griffiths stated the process requires "no external energy input and it can be reused for batch after batch of feedstock," ensuring commercial viability despite global economic uncertainty affecting gold prices.
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12 Articles
About 4,000 tons of discarded electronic devices are processed annually and around 400 kilos of gold are recovered from them.For example, each cell contains about 40 milligrams of gold, equivalent to $5.
At The Royal Mint in Wales, electronic scrap is turned into exclusive gold jewelry. The process both reduces environmental pollution and takes advantage of high gold prices.
Gold is widely used in electronic circuits because it conducts electricity well and, unlike other metals, does not oxidize or deteriorate over time.
In Wales, the UK currency factory transforms electronic waste into luxury jewellery through an innovative chemical process At the heart of the UK currency factory, d
Britain's Royal Mint strikes gold in electronic waste
Behind barbed wire and coded security gates at its site near Cardiff in Wales, the Royal Mint -- the state-owned maker of British coins as well as medals -- is turning electronic waste into luxury jewellery. The initiative remains unusual in a sector where much electronic waste never reaches proper recycling facilities. Opened two years ago, the plant can process around 4,000 tonnes of electronic waste a year, containing "about 400 kilos of go…
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