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Precious Metals Recovery
Partnering with Canadian clean tech for all company Excir, we have created a pioneering
technology that recovers gold and other precious metals from discarded electronic waste.
Sustainability
We have built a groundbreaking plant in Llantrisant, South Wales, which will recover gold from UK electronic waste solely derived from old mobile phones and laptops. The pioneering facility will help address a growing environmental issue, whilst supporting jobs, British skills and traditional craftsmanship, and will subsequently create a new source of high-quality precious metals for our organisation.
Pioneering Science
By teaming up with Excir, we have reinvented the way we produce precious metals. The Canadian clean tech start-up company has ingeniously created a revolutionary chemical that can safely retrieve at least 99% of gold from electronic waste, which derives from circuit boards found in discarded laptops and mobile phones.
With less than 20% of electronic waste recycled worldwide, this invention is a solution to the growing environmental challenges we all face in the current climate and facilitates our aim to become a future leader in sustainable precious metals.
Our scientists and engineers are now working to expand this innovative technology from laboratory scale to mass production. Initially, the technology has produced gold with a purity of 999.9 and, when fully scaled up, the process has the potential to recover palladium, silver and copper.
Embracing the principles of a circular economy, The Royal Mint and Excir have the potential to ensure controlled and regulated handling of electronic waste, preserving natural resources for longer, helping to reduce the environmental impact of e-waste, and fostering new skills and employment opportunities in the UK.
Our Future
Generating hundreds of kilogrammes of gold per year, we expect to process up to 90 tonnes of UK-sourced circuit boards per week. This new venture will create around 40 jobs, helping existing employees to reskill as well as recruiting chemists and engineers.
We are transforming our business for the future – expanding into areas which complement our expertise in precious metals, champion sustainability and support employment. Our investment in a new plant will see The Royal Mint become a leader in sustainably sourced precious metals and provide the UK with a much-needed domestic solution to the growing problem of electronic waste.”
Anne Jessopp, Chief Executive of The Royal Mint