Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives, serving as communication devices, entertainment hubs, and productivity tools. But have you ever wondered about the hidden treasures that lie within these sleek gadgets? Among the numerous components that make up a smartphone, one precious element stands out: gold(“How Much Gold In A Smartphone,” 2023).
Smartphones are pocket-sized vaults of precious metals and rare earths. A typical iPhone is estimated to house around 0.034g of gold, 0.34g of silver, 0.015g of palladium and less than one-thousandth of a gram of platinum(How Much Gold Can We Get from Mobile Phones?, n.d.).
Once the gold has been separated from the other metals during the recycling process, how much actual gold can be recovered from a single phone? Given that one gram of gold is equivalent to $57.65 (at a market price of $1800 per troy ounce), 0.03 grams would be worth approximately $1.73(Leo, 2023).
What’s more, the concentration of some of these elements, such as gold and silver in a mobile phone is much higher than their concentration in an equivalent weight of ore(How Much Gold Can We Get from Mobile Phones?, n.d.).
While cell phones contain relatively small amounts of precious metals like gold, silver, and copper, the high number of phones discarded globally represents a significant opportunity for metal recovery and recycling. This will reduce the waste going into landfills and recover valuable resources.(Leo, 2023).
What if gold mining in the future came more from e-waste than from the earth? Do you think that’s possible? Share your thoughts in the comments.
References:
How much gold can be extracted from iPhone? (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2025, from https://www.calendar-australia.com/faq/how-much-gold-can-be-extracted-from-iphone
How much gold can we get from Mobile phones? (n.d.). 01. Retrieved April 18, 2025, from https://vocal.media/01/how-much-gold-can-we-get-from-mobile-phones
How Much Gold In A Smartphone. (2023, October 6). Robots.Net. https://robots.net/tech/how-much-gold-in-a-smartphone/
Leo, C. W. (2023, November 8). How much gold can be recovered from a cell phone? Color With Leo. https://www.colorwithleo.com/how-much-gold-can-be-recovered-from-a-cell-phone/
