Smart Phone Gold

Taken from: ScrapMonitor9-18-14


Tossing an Old Cell Phone? You're Literally Throwing Out Gold
Toronto Globe & Mail (Canada) (08/28/14) Benali, Sarah



Consumers who want to update their smartphone should recycle rather than discard them, experts say. Every year, Americans dump $60 million worth of gold and silver in obsolete cell phones, making electronics one of the fastest growing waste streams, according to Sims Recycling Solutions. Sims vice president Sean Magann says the company recycled 167 ounces of gold from cell phones last year, or the equivalent of about 789 Olympic gold medals. ISRI estimates that 3.3 tons of gold was extracted from 100 million discarded cell phones in 2013. "Rather than sticking them in a desk drawer or sending them to a landfill, responsibly recycling cell phones is good for the environment and is good for our economy, generating up to $150 million a year in scrap value," says Eric Harris, ISRI director of government and international affairs. Gold's malleability and conductive properties make it a key component of smartphones. Trevor Keel, the World Gold Council's head of technology, says there are about 25 milligrams of gold found in a typical smartphone, which is worth about $1.

I could poke holes in that story...but the truth of the matter is this: Phone boards that do not have external antennas have around .15 grams of Palladium per board that acts as the antenna inside the phone. THIS IS WHAT IS VALUABLE IN A CELL PHONE...

He's trying to move to a real island.

Hence why BC wants them.

I found a spot for ya BC!

Sirscrapalot - Has a cooler for BC.