Based on estimates published by the US Geological Survey (USGS), around 60,000 tons of gold, minable economically with the current technology, were still available at the end of 2025. With an annual extraction rate of around 4,000 tons, the average in recent years, the end of gold mining would be foreseeable. That alone is reason enough to promote the recycling of precious metals from electronic waste, called urban mining. A further reason is the fact that the extraction of gold from old smartphones, tablets and PCs is much more climate and environmentally friendly than mining.
One ton of electronic waste contains more gold than 17 tons of gold ore
On average, 400 grams of gold can be recovered from one ton of electronic waste. That is 17 times more than a ton of gold ore usually contains – and the latter would first have to be mined and the gold extracted from it. For a long time, gold was recycled from electronic waste using chemical processes that leave a significantly smaller ecological footprint than mining. Today, the process increasingly relies on whey proteins, i.e. waste products from cheese production, enabling nearly energy-neutral and, above all, completely non-toxic urban mining.
20 PC circuit boards contain almost half a gram of gold
A conventional PC comprises numerous circuit boards, such as the motherboard, which connects all the main components, as well as smaller circuit boards for the graphics card, sound card, RAM, SSDs, network adapter, and power supply. All of these circuit boards contain gold, with some entirely coated with the precious metal to prevent oxidation and protect the underlying layer of nickel and copper. A scrap PC can therefore contain up to half a gram of gold, usually with a purity of 22 carats, currently worth €56. The high gold price is conductive to the efforts to promote urban mining. According to calculations by Metals Focus, the share of urban mining in total gold production, presently still in single digits, has the potential to reach around 15 percent by 2030.