Britain’s Royal Mint turns electronic waste to gold

Britain’s Royal Mint started extracting gold from e-waste.

Millions of tons of old technology are thrown away every year — from outdated phones to broken TVs. Many Semafor readers may have several ancient smartphones sitting in a drawer somewhere.

The Mint, which makes all of Britain’s money, will process 4,500 tons a year, heating it so that plastic components are removed: Circuitboards each contain small amounts of valuable metals, so it expects to make about 450kg (992lb) of gold annually, which it will convert into jewelry and commemorative coins.

The system will also recover aluminum copper, tin, and steel, among other metals: “What we’re doing here is urban mining,” one executive told the BBC.