Bank of England phones recycled for gold at Royal Mint

The Bank of England has found a new home for its old office phones: the recovery lines of south Wales.

Thousands of decommissioned desk phones from the Bank’s premises have been sent to the Royal Mint‘s Reformation Metals facility, where gold and other precious metals are being extracted from their circuit boards.

The recovered metals will be used in 886 by The Royal Mint, the Mint’s jewellery collection, meaning the Bank’s old handsets could end up as necklaces and rings.

Both institutions say the arrangement puts reuse before recycling. Equipment was first assessed for resale opportunities, with the remainder securely wiped before heading to the Mint for processing.

Sean Millard, the Mint’s chief growth officer, said the deal brought together “two iconic British institutions” behind shared sustainability goals.

“Together, we’re recovering valuable materials for future use and supporting the UK’s circular economy,” he said.

At the Bank, executive director for central operations Vivienne Grafton said the partnership reflected “our commitment to reducing waste and delivering value for money”.

“We’re proud to support this initiative and to contribute to a more sustainable future economy,” she added.

The Mint unveiled its Reformation Metals plant in August 2024, in partnership with Canadian clean-tech firm Excir.

The 3,700 square metre facility can process up to 4,000 tonnes of printed circuit boards a year, pulling gold and other precious metals out of the nation’s electronic waste.

The Mint says it works with organisations across the UK to process circuit boards from end-of-life electronics.

The jewellery line’s name is a nod to the Mint’s own history: 886 is the year the coin maker traces its origins to, more than a millennium before anyone needed to recycle a desk phone.

It caps a busy week for the Llantrisant works, which also put Star Trek on a 50p for the franchise’s 60th anniversary.

Precious metal already flows there from closer to home: silver recovered from Singleton Hospital’s old X-rays is destined for the same site, potentially returning to Wales as jewellery.

Anyone sitting on a drawer of dead handsets can take heart. In the circular economy, yesterday’s hold music is tomorrow’s wedding ring.