How much gold can actually be "refined" from a single used mobile phone? In its series report "The Great Cycle Around Us," CCTV revealed the truth behind the "gold refining" process in used mobile phone recycling.
The claim that "one ton of used mobile phones can yield 200 grams of gold" has long circulated online, but experts state that this assertion is inaccurate.
The so-called "200 grams of gold" refers to pure mobile phone motherboard waste from one ton of dismantled, sorted phones with casings, screens, batteries, and other components removed, not one ton of complete used phones.
As smartphone manufacturing processes continue to advance, the gold plating inside phones has become progressively thinner. Since 2010, the gold content in a modern smartphone is typically only 0.02 to 0.03 grams.
In other words, while used mobile phones do have value for precious metal recovery, they are not the "gold mines" suggested by online rumors.
At a recycling production base in Guiyu, Guangdong, pre-treated circuit boards from used mobile phones are fed into a smelting furnace at approximately 1300°C via a fully enclosed conveyor system.
After high-temperature smelting, high-value metals such as copper, gold, silver, and palladium are separated from hazardous substances like lead and mercury. The comprehensive metal recovery rate of the production line exceeds 98%, with an annual processing capacity of 12,000 tons of waste circuit boards.
According to the base manager, the copper ingots obtained after smelting have a copper content of about 90%. Each ton of copper ingots contains approximately 100 grams of gold and 1000 grams of silver, while one ton of circuit boards can yield about 300 kilograms of copper.
It is important to note that formal used mobile phone recycling does not involve extracting "gold" from phones alone; instead, it comprehensively recovers various metals such as copper, gold, silver, and palladium, with gold being just one of the by-products.