A study compiled by the Gold Bullion Company reveals that Azerbaijan has the smallest amount of documented and recycled e-waste in the world, with just 10,000 kilograms in 2022 while the US has the highest – twice as much as second place China.
While most people only think of gold as sourced through mining or when people buy gold bars, the Royal Mint has begun processing electronic waste in order to extract the precious metal from it. Electronic waste is old, end-of-life, or discarded electrical and electronic equipment.
According to the study, the world is on track to produce 82 million tonnes of e-waste annually by 2030, up from 62Mt in 2022.
The Gold Bullion Company’s study assessed the total kilograms of documented recycled e-waste each country produced and found that while the US has the highest estimated gold worth from recycled e-waste at 13,767kg – twice as much as second place China with 6,630kg – Azerbaijan is sitting on the least estimated gold from recycled e-waste with 0.03kg.
The Gold Bullion Company says extracting gold from electronic devices is now a valuable exercise given the precious metal’s spot price continues reaching new highs. Today (8 November) the price is sitting at $4,062.91.
The amount of e-waste recycled in Azerbaijan could generate an estimated 30 grams of gold. In turn, this would be worth around $4,344.40. Comparatively, during 2022, the US produced a whopping 4.1 billion kg of documented recycled e-waste. The estimated gold generated from that much e-waste is around 13,767kg, which is worth around $1.73 billion.
The Gold Bullion Company says this outcome could be due to a range of reasons, including limited e-waste management infrastructure or the lack of regulations to specifically target the issue.
Namibia, Saint Lucia, and Zimbabwe share second place, with 30,000kg of e-waste annually. This amount could generate an estimated 100 grams of gold totalling $12,837.40.
The Gold Bullion Company says there are not many e-waste policies in Namibia, however, the government is working on integrating similar policies to Europe.
In Saint Lucia, the amount of e-waste could be due to the fact it is the Caribbean Island nation’s smallest population. Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe, the amount of e-waste is likely due to an underdeveloped e-waste collection and recycling infrastructure.
“This could include too few or hard-to-access collection points, making it difficult for people to properly dispose of their e-waste,” the Gold Bullion Company says.
Germany ranks third with the highest estimated gold value from recycled e-waste with a total of 956.6kg of e-waste documented and recycled. This amount of e-waste generates an estimated 3,249.53kg of gold, which is worth $408.48 million.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: The Gold Bullion & PMT Refinery
