Royal Mint and Excir to recover precious metals from e-waste
The Royal Mint is partnering with Canadian clean tech start up Excir to introduce technology to the UK that will retrieve and recycle gold and other precious metals from electronic waste.
Excir’s patented technology is said to recover over 99 per cent of gold from electronic waste, which is contained within the circuit boards of discarded laptops and mobile phones.
“This partnership represents a significant milestone for The Royal Mint as we reinvent for the future as the home of precious metals in the UK,” Anne Jessopp, chief executive of The Royal Mint said in a statement. “The potential of this technology is huge – reducing the impact of electronic waste, preserving precious commodities, and forging new skills which help drive a circular economy.”
Why it’s time to start planning for the circular economy
Each year, 50 million tonnes of electronic waste is produced globally, a figure set to reach 74 million tonnes by 2030. To date, less than a fifth of electronic waste is recycled world-wide, resulting in a loss of gold, silver, copper, palladium, and other highly valued metals conservatively valued $57bn.
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