The U.K.’s Royal Mint Is Turning Used TVs, Laptops, and Smartphones Into Gold

One man’s trash has become another’s treasure.

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The Royal Mint, the United Kingdom’s official maker of British coins, has started “mining” electronic waste for high-quality 999.9 gold. The U.K.’s oldest company just opened a new factory in South Wales to recover the precious metal from old circuit boards.

“The Royal Mint is transforming for the future, and the opening of our Precious Metals Recovery factory marks a pivotal step in our journey,” Anne Jessopp, Chief Executive at the Royal Mint, said in a statement .

The nearly 40,000-square-foot site uses patented chemistry developed by Canadian outfit Excir to extract gold from the printed circuit boards (PCBs) in everyday items, such as TVs, laptops, and mobile phones. The process takes just a few minutes and is a more energy-efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional mining.

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The new Precious Metals Recovery factory will be capable of processing up to 4,400 tons of PCBs annually, which could generate almost half a ton of gold worth about £27 million ($34 million) at current prices. The recovered gold is already being used in the Mint’s luxury jewelry collection. The 886 line includes necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pendants, signet rings, and other stylish bling. Pieces range from £275 ($350) to £110,000 ($140,000) a pop. The recovered gold will also made into commemorative coins at a later stage.

The Mint will have no shortage of electronic waste to mine, either. A record 68 million tons of e-waste was produced globally in 2022, according to the UN. The new factory has been designed to ensure that any valuable resources are recovered, while the other less important materials like aluminum, copper, tin, and steel are appropriately treated for onward processing. The Mint says the new business venture will create new jobs, too.

“We are not only preserving finite precious metals for future generations, but we are also preserving the expert craftmanship the Royal Mint is famous for by creating new jobs and reskilling opportunities for our employees,” Jessopp added. “We have ambitious plans, and I am proud that we are safeguarding the Royal Mint for another 1,100 years.”

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