UK Coin Manufacturer Turns E-Waste into Gold
People have been trying to turn things into gold for centuries — mostly without success.
But now the UK's coin manufacturer is looking to turn garbage into gold as it opens a factory to extract gold from electronic waste.
The Royal Mint, which has been manufacturing coins in the UK for more than 1,000 years, is recovering the small amounts of gold found in circuit boards used in electronic devices.
Gold is used on circuit boards because even small amounts of it are very good for conducting electricity — and unlike copper, gold doesn't corrode.
However, electronic waste, or e-waste, has also become a significant problem across the world.
According to the United Nations (UN), 62 million metric tons of e-waste were thrown away in 2022, and it's only expected to increase in the years to come.
The UN said this year that the UK is the world's second biggest producer of e-waste per capita, after Norway.
The Royal Mint says its factory in Wales can extract gold from up to 4,000 metric tons of circuit boards in a year.
The factory is using technology made by a Canadian company.
The circuit boards are heated and then separated into their constituent parts. These then move along a conveyor belt, where they're sorted and processed.
Anything that contains gold is collected, and a chemical solution is used to leach out the gold, after which the solution is filtered to leave behind gold powder. The powder is then heated and cooled to become a piece of solid gold.
It has already been used in jewelry sold by the Royal Mint.
The company says the whole process is low energy, and it's quick. And the Royal Mint is now trying to find ways to use the other materials from the circuit boards as well.
Anne Jessopp, the company's CEO, added that the factory will also create new work for the Royal Mint's staff at a time when it doesn't need to produce as many coins as it used to, because many people are using electronic payments instead.
