'Urban mining' of precious metals now a rich prospect

Valuable metals can be found in cellphones, laptop computers, PCs and other electronic goods but is very rarely recovered.

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Agence France Presse

Fri, Jul 06 2012 at 12:27 PM

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Indian youths dismantle reusable parts from electronic waste on a pavement in 2005. "Deposits" of gold in electronic waste are around 50 times richer than ore mined from the ground, according to figures put forward by recycling experts on Friday. (Photo:

"Deposits" of gold in electronic waste are around 50 times richer than ore mined from the ground, according to figures put forward by recycling experts on July 6.

The amount of precious metal junked in cellphones, laptop computers, PCs and other electronic goods is rising hugely but very little of it is recovered, they said.

More than 320 tons of gold, worth more than $16 billion (13 billion euros), and 7,500 tons of silver, worth $5 billion, are used annually in electronic products, the report by the United Nations University and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) said.

For gold, just 10-15 percent is recovered, while the rest goes unspotted or is wasted in the crude recovery methods used in backyard shops.

Ton for ton, e-waste has 40-60 times more gold than ore, according to the estimate.

It suggested there are around 200 grams (seven ounces) of gold in a ton of circuit boards and 300 grams (10.5 ounces) in a ton of cellphones, compared with 5 grams (0.17 ounces) in a ton of ore.

MNN - Mother Nature Network

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