The Royal Mint, the public body responsible for minting coins in the United Kingdom, has opened a factory to recycle precious metals from electronic waste and turn them into collectible coins or jewelry.
“This new facility represents a sustainable source of precious metals and reduces dependence on mines,” the Royal Mint explained in a statement released this Wednesday (7).
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The Royal Mint hopes to recover 4,000 tonnes of electronic circuits a year from old computers, telephones and televisions. This should allow the recovery of metals such as half a tonne of gold, 1,000 tonnes of copper and 2.5 tonnes of silver each year.
The use of coins is on the decline, particularly in the UK, where cash use has fallen sharply since the Covid-19 pandemic due to the rise of contactless bank card payments and online shopping.
The Royal Mint highlighted that the opening of the factory is part of a strategy to diversify its operations and protect jobs.
“The Royal Mint is repositioning for the future and the opening of our precious metals recovery plant marks a key moment in this journey,” said Ann Jessop, CEO of the Royal Mint.
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