A tonne of old phones holds more gold than a tonne of gold ore. Each handset carries traces of gold, silver and copper, concentrated enough that recycling them, so-called urban mining, pulls more gold per tonne than an actual mine.

Our e-waste drawers contain enough precious metals to rival commercial mines—but only if we can figure out how to extract them profitably. The post A tonne of old phones holds more gold than a tonne of gold ore. Each handset carries traces of gold, silver and copper, concentrated enough that recycling them, so-called urban mining, pulls more gold per tonne than an actual mine. appeared first on Space Daily .