Rockwell Automation to Support The Royal Mint’s Precious Metal Recovery Facility

Rockwell Automation is working with The Royal Mint to design, build, and commission a facility to safely recover valuable metals from electronic products. When fully operational in 2023, The Royal Mint’s facility in South Wales is expected to process up to 90 tons of UK-sourced circuit boards per week.

Waste from electrical equipment and electronics, known as e-waste, is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the UK and the world, with less than 20% currently recycled worldwide. More than 95 tons of precious metals including gold, silver and palladium–equivalent to US$850 million–could be recycled from unwanted electricals each year.

Partnering with Rockwell, The Royal Mint will use patented chemistry and a PlantPAx® distributed control system to recover more than 99% of precious metals from the circuit boards of discarded laptops and mobile phones – reducing the environmental impact of e-waste in the UK and supporting The Royal Mint’s broader sustainability goals.

“This technology provides us with the opportunity to make a genuine impact on one of the world’s greatest environmental challenges while helping to secure our future as a leader in high quality, sustainable precious metals,” said Sean Millard, chief growth officer at The Royal Mint. “The potential of this technology is huge – reducing the impact of electronic waste, preserving precious commodities, and forging new skills which help drive a circular economy.”

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