Chinese team unveils world’s most efficient e-waste gold recovery tech

This gold-mining method can extract precious metals from discarded central processing units (CPUs) in old mobile phones and computers and printed circuit boards (PCBs) removed from home appliances through chemical washing in less than 20 minutes.

It achieves over 98.2 per cent gold leaching efficiency from waste CPUs and PCBs at room temperature, along with a 93.4 per cent extraction rate for palladium while producing much less pollution than traditional methods.

Treating 10kg (22lbs) of PCBs can yield around 1.4g (0.05 ounces) of gold at a total cost of about US$72, or US$1,455 per ounce, according to the researchers. This is the most cost-efficient method reported to date and makes e-waste gold recycling an incredibly lucrative business: in early January, international gold prices exceeded US$4,472 per ounce.

As China produces several million tonnes of e-waste each year, this technological breakthrough offers a potentially game-changing solution to both resource scarcity and environmental harm as Beijing positions urban mining as the future of sustainable precious metal recovery.

Gold, platinum, palladium and other precious metals are widely used in electronics, catalysts and jewellery due to their excellent stability, conductivity and catalytic properties. However, they are scarce and mining them often leads to habitat destruction and soil and water pollution.

South China Morning Post