The UK Royal Mint has unveiled a new factory that processes e-waste to produce gold, which it is marketing as a more sustainable gold recovery method. 

The company aims to process up to 4 000 t/y of printed circuit boards at the 3 700 m2 site.

The factory uses world-first patented chemistry from Canadian clean technology company Excir which extracts gold from items such as televisions, laptops and mobile phones in minutes.

The recovered gold is already being used in the Royal Mint’s 886 luxury jewellery collection.

According to the UN's Global E-waste Monitor, the generation of worldwide e-waste is rising by 2.6-million tonnes every year, with a record 62-million tonnes of e-waste having been generated in 2022 – an 82% increase on that generated in 2010.

“The new factory offers a more sustainable solution to this growing environmental challenge. It has been designed to ensure that valuable finite resources are recovered, and other materials are appropriately treated for onward processing,” the Royal Mint explains.

CE Anne Jessopp adds that not only is the Royal Mint preserving the finite resource that is gold for future generations, but it is also preserving the expert craftmanship that the Royal Mint is famous for by creating new jobs and reskilling opportunities for employees.

Moreover, the Royal Mint is working with major industry bodies to develop an internally recognised standard for the definition of recycled gold, which will provide clarity to the industry, end-consumers and other stakeholders.

Royal Mint chief growth officer Sean Millard says the new factory allows the company to reduce its reliance on mined materials and is another example of how to decarbonise operations.