2315) Did You Know Series (63): The Royal Mint, United Kingdom (UK) is building the world's first plant to convert UK's Electronic Waste (Electronic Devices like Mobile phones and laptops etc.) into Gold:

2315) Did You Know Series (63): The Royal Mint, United  Kingdom (UK) is building the world's first plant to convert UK's Electronic Waste (Electronic Devices like Mobile phones and laptops etc.) into Gold:

Ever thought of recovering precious metals from discarded electronic devices into Gold? The Royal Mint, UK is pioneering this new technology:

The Royal Mint is to build the "world's first plant" which will turn UK’s electronic waste into gold. The Mint has announced plans to build this plant in South Wales to recover gold from UK electronic waste. 

Pioneering this new technology will enable The Royal Mint to recover precious metals from discarded electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.

Some salient features:

- The first of its kind plant which will provide a source of high-quality precious metals while offering a solution to significant and growing environmental challenges

- The project forms part of The Royal Mint’s reinvention and helps secure a future as a leader in sustainably sourced precious metals.

- The pioneering facility will help address a growing environmental issue, support jobs and skills in Britain, and create a new source of high quality precious metals for the business.

- The Royal Mint is using patented new chemistry - created by Canadian based Excir - to recover gold within the circuit boards of laptops and mobile phones. The unique chemistry is capable of recovering over 99% of the precious metals contained within electronic waste – selectively targeting the metal in seconds.

The Proposed Plant and its objectives:

Construction of the plant will begin this month, and it will be located within The Royal Mint’s highly secure site to provide a stream of gold directly into the business.

In 2023, the plant is scheduled be fully operational. 

The Royal Mint expects to process up to 90 tonnes of UK-sourced circuit boards per week – generating hundreds of kilograms of gold per year. 

In addition, the new business venture will support around 40 jobs, helping existing employees to reskill as well as recruiting new chemists and engineers.

Each year, more than 50 million tonnes of electronic waste is produced globally, with less than 20% currently being recycled. If nothing is done, this is set to reach 74 million tonnes by 2030.

Instead of electronic waste leaving UK shores to be processed at high temperatures in smelters, the approach will see precious metals recovered at room temperature at The Royal Mint’s plant in South Wales. 

Embracing the principles of a circular economy, the plant will be able to process the entire circuit board - preserving natural resources for longer, helping to reduce the environmental impact of electronic waste and fostering new skills and employment in the UK.   

The new plant is targetted at The Royal Mint becoming a leader in sustainably sourced precious metals and provide the UK with a much-needed domestic solution to the growing problem of electronic waste.

 This approach is revolutionary and offers huge potential to reuse the planet’s precious resources, reduce the environmental footprint of electronic waste and create new jobs.

When fully operational this plant will be the first of its kind in the world – processing tonnes of electronic waste each week, and providing a new source of high quality gold direct to The Royal Mint.