There is gold in old phones. They recover as much as 400 kg of it per year

Old telephones from the Bank of England offices go to the state-owned British mint instead of landfill. The Royal Mint dismantles the devices and recovers valuable raw materials from them, including gold later used, among others, for the production of luxury jewelry.

The installation launched two years ago can process approximately 4,000. tons of electronic waste per year. According to Sean Millard, development director of the Royal Mint, this amount of e-waste contains approximately 400 kg of gold. The Mint uses a specially developed method that allows metal recovery without traditional remelting of waste at very high temperatures.

Gold from old phones worth millions

Each of the recycled old phones from the Bank of England contains approximately 30 milligrams of gold. The value of this quantity was estimated at approximately 3 pounds, or PLN 15. In a modern smartphone, the value of the gold inside is around £4.

Metal is used in electronics due to its properties. It conducts electricity very well and does not corrode. However, its chemical stability also has another side – it makes recovering gold from electronic waste not a simple process.

The Royal Mint takes the devices apart

The British mint uses a different solution than plants that melt down electronic waste in its entirety. First, the devices are disassembled and then the individual materials are separated. Copper, tantalum and even plastic from printed circuit boards go to specialized recycling companies.

The most valuable ore is recovered using a patented process of the Canadian company Excir. The automated line of chemical vats is inaccessible to cameras precisely because of technology protection.

Gold dissolves at room temperature

Traditional recovery methods require very high temperatures or the use of corrosive acid mixtures, which leave hazardous chemical waste. The Royal Mint, however, uses a process that allows gold to dissolve at room temperature.

As Royal Mint chemical analyst Kate Griffiths explains, the method does not require external energy input and can be used repeatedly for subsequent batches of material. The electronic components go into a chemical bath, and after adding further reagents, a fine gold powder is created.

Jewelry is made from an old phone

After further purification, the recovered metal is used to produce Royal Mint brand “886” jewelry. The name refers to the year the mint was founded. Recycled silver is also used in production, partly obtained from old radios supplied by British hospitals.

The scale of possible recovery is important because a large part of e-waste is still not properly managed. According to UN data, in 2022, only 22.3% of waste was properly collected and recycled in the world. electronic waste. Improper handling may lead to the release into the environment of, among others: lead, mercury and plastics.

High gold prices increase profitability

An additional factor in favor of recovery are the rising prices of the metal. Gold reached a record high of almost $5,600 an ounce at the end of January and later fell to around $4,000.

Jason Hallett from Imperial College London points out that with the very high price of gold, the cost of processing e-waste to recover it becomes less important. This allows alternative methods to become commercially viable, provided the process itself does not lead to large increases in energy consumption or emissions.