That old phone in your drawer could be hiding gold: Study reveals a tonne of e-waste can contain 100 times more gold than gold ore; every handset contains tiny traces of gold, silver & copper, and millions of devices could create urban mine

That old mobile phone sitting forgotten in a drawer may be worth far more as a source of recovered metals than it appears. Space Daily has highlighted the growing interest in electronic waste as an urban source of valuable materials, while data from the United Nations and World Economic Forum show just how concentrated some precious metals can be in discarded electronics.

The striking comparison is that a tonne of e-waste can contain around 100 times more gold than a tonne of gold ore, according to a 2019 UN Environment Programme report. The comparison refers to e-waste as a broad category rather than one specific type of device.