How To Mine Gold From Electronics | World Wide Waste | Business Insider

Summary

Mint Innovation, a New Zealand startup, is revolutionizing e-waste recycling by using nature’s microorganisms to extract valuable metals like gold and palladium from circuit boards. The process involves grinding circuit boards, mixing them with chemicals, and using microbes to absorb precious metals. The goal is to make e-waste recycling safer, more efficient, and local. While the process is innovative, the company faces challenges due to decreasing precious metal content in electronics. Despite these hurdles, Mint aims to create scalable plants to address the growing global e-waste problem.

Takeaways

• 😀 The process of extracting precious metals from e-waste is traditionally costly and polluting, often carried out in toxic conditions.
• 🌱 A New Zealand startup, Mint Innovation, has developed a cleaner and safer method for extracting valuable metals using microorganisms.
• 🔬 The microorganisms used by Mint Innovation evolved to bond with specific metals, allowing them to selectively concentrate precious metals like gold and palladium.
• ⚙️ The extraction process involves grinding circuit boards into sand-like particles, mixing them with chemicals, and using electricity to extract metals like copper.
• 💎 After extracting copper, palladium and gold are separated using a second chemical bath and then absorbed by microorganisms.
• 🔬 The microbes absorb the precious metals over several hours, transforming into a concentrated paste rich in gold and other valuable metals.
• 💰 The final product of this process is a gold-rich ash, which is then refined into pure gold.
• ⏱️ Mint Innovation can extract 150 grams of gold from 1 ton of circuit boards in one week, resulting in a small but valuable yield.
• 🌍 As gold mining becomes more difficult, e-waste presents a growing opportunity to recover precious metals, with 81% of gold now above ground.
• ⚠️ The global e-waste problem is expected to grow, with 110 million metric tons of e-waste projected to be generated annually by 2050.
• 🌎 Activists argue that recycling methods, while important, will not solve the problem unless electronics manufacturers design products with recyclability in mind.

Q & A

What is the main innovation introduced by Mint Innovation in e-waste recycling?

Mint Innovation has developed a process that uses microorganisms to selectively concentrate precious metals like gold and palladium from e-waste, making the extraction process cleaner and safer compared to traditional methods.

How does the process of extracting metals from e-waste work at Mint Innovation?

The process begins by shredding circuit boards into a sand-like consistency. The material is mixed with inexpensive chemicals, and the mixture is filtered to separate liquids from solids. Then, electricity is used to pull out copper, and microorganisms are used to recover gold and palladium.

Why is the use of microorganisms considered a breakthrough in e-waste recycling?

Microorganisms are able to selectively bond with specific metals like gold and palladium, allowing Mint Innovation to recover precious metals in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way, compared to traditional smelting or toxic methods.

What role do bacteria and fungi play in Mint's e-waste recycling process?

Mint Innovation identified specific bacteria and fungi that evolved to bond with metals. These microorganisms absorb precious metal ions from e-waste, concentrating them into a microbial paste that can be further processed to extract gold and palladium.

What happens to the microbial paste after the precious metals are absorbed?

Once the microorganisms have absorbed the metals, the paste is dried, and the gold nanoparticles within it turn purple. The microbial matter is then burned off, leaving behind a gold-rich ash, which is sent to a refiner for further processing.

How much gold can be extracted from one ton of circuit boards in a week?

Mint Innovation can extract 150 grams of gold from 1 ton of circuit boards in one week using their process.

What are the broader environmental benefits of this e-waste recycling method?

This process reduces the environmental impact of e-waste disposal by making it safer and more efficient. It also helps decrease reliance on traditional mining, which is increasingly unsustainable and harmful to the environment.

How does Mint Innovation’s approach compare to traditional e-waste recycling methods?

Traditional methods often involve burning e-waste or using toxic chemicals, which can pollute the environment and harm workers. Mint Innovation’s approach uses non-toxic microorganisms and industrial chemicals to safely extract metals with less environmental impact.

Why is electronic waste becoming a more pressing issue globally?

As the global production of electronics increases and the lifespan of devices shortens, e-waste is growing rapidly. By 2050, it is projected that the world will generate 110 million metric tons of e-waste annually, which is difficult to manage and recycle properly.

What challenge does Mint Innovation face in scaling their process worldwide?

Mint Innovation's challenge lies in the decreasing value of e-waste over time, as manufacturers use fewer precious metals in electronics. This trend makes it harder to generate profit from recycling e-waste, although the company is exploring ways to apply their process to other waste types, such as car parts.