The facility will help address a growing environmental issue as well as create a new source of high-quality precious metals for the business.
A study from 2020 found that Britons produce the second largest amount of e-waste per person in Europe after Norwegians.
The Royal Mint’s new facility will use a new chemical process created by Canadian firm Excir to recover gold within the circuit boards of laptops and mobile phones. It is capable of recovering over 99 per cent of the precious metals contained within electronic waste – selectively targeting the metal in seconds.
Construction of the plant begins 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.
When fully operational in 2023, the site is expected 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...