Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) 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."
About The Royal Mint
With a history spanning more than 1,100 years, The Royal Mint is Britain’s original maker of UK coins. Today, The Royal Mint is a premium British maker, providing carefully crafted coins and precious metal products for the UK and overseas. Based in Llantrisant, South Wales, it has three main focuses as a business: Currency, Consumer (collectable and rare, historic coins) and precious metals investment.
About Rockwell Automation
Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 25,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.
Published October 26, 2022