

However, different computer models have different amounts of gold in them.Ĭomputer models like Dell and Apple have more gold-laced on their parts and components, and that is why their manufacturers always want to recycle them for their users.ĭiving deeper, computers use gold differently in their construction compared to other electronic devices like phones.Īs a more complex device, your personal computer requires fast and accurate data transmission from one component to the next. You only need to collect the motherboards and a few other parts like the microchips and central processors to gather and recycle gold from old computers. How Much Gold is in a Computer, Laptop, Cellphone Electronic DeviceĬomputers have gold incorporated on components like the processors and circuit boards.Ĭircuit boards contain the majority of the gold in any computer. Only a handful of electronic device users know that the interior of their devices is thinly laced with gold.īut then, how much gold is incorporated into electronic devices? Approximately 400 tonnes of gold out of 40,000 metric tonnes of gold goes into electronic manufacture.

Gold is incorporated in electronic devices like computers, laptops, and smartphones as electroplating chemicals, sputter targets, and gold bonding wire. The primary reason being, gold is a better conductor of electricity, malleable, and highly corrosion-resistant. The practice of using gold as conductors in electronics instead of copper is slowly but surely taking over. However, silver is the best conductor, followed by gold.ĭespite copper being a lesser expensive option compared to silver and gold, it transports electrons slowly.īut since speed is more important than the cost in the communications and computing world, gold is considered a better alternative to copper. When most people think of electricity conduction, they think of copper, probably because it is the most common electrical conductor. Also, find out how you can mine gold from a bunch of electronic wastes! How Much of Gold is in Your Electronic Smart Device? Something Borrowed In this post, we’ll dive into the amount of gold in your electronic device and what role it plays there. Then, a cellphone contains about 0.034 grams of gold, worth about $1.83. Each laptop has 0.006 grams of gold, and you’d need 7,500 such devices to get a kilo of gold. So, it begs the question: how much gold is in a computer, laptop, or cellphone?Ī computer contains about 0.2 grams of gold, valued at about $12. Did you know that we recycle only 12.5% of electronic waste around the world? And, in every million recycled laptops, cellphones, or computers, we recover about 30 pounds of palladium, 75 pounds of gold, 770 pounds of silver, and 35,000 copper.
