Britain’s Royal Mint strikes gold in electronic waste

Llantrisant: At the heart of Britain’s coin factory, old Bank of England telephones are stripped down and dipped into giant vats to recover a hidden treasure: the gold in their circuits.

Behind barbed wire and coded security gates at its site near Cardiff in Wales, the Royal Mint — the state-owned maker of British coins as well as medals — is turning electronic waste into luxury jewellery.

The initiative remains unusual in a sector where much electronic waste never reaches proper recycling facilities.