Illegal mining or why precious metals in smartphones have become a problem
Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2025 7:21 am
Gold is not the best conductor, but it is prized in electronics for its ductility and resistance to corrosion. Apple and other smartphone manufacturers use gold for contacts, relays, and connectors.
The iPhone's cameras, wireless charging coils, and motherboards are made with gold. The weight of gold in the iPhone XS is less than 0.01% (0.018 grams) of the phone's weight, but Apple manufactured nearly 200 million phones in 2019.
If the iPhone uses raw gold, it may have been mined in a developing country and passed through several smelters and refineries, each of which produces waste and consumes energy.
Payal Sampat, director of the mining program at Earthworks, a nonprofit environmental organization, says that the production of one gold ring results in the production of an average of 20 tons of waste.
Mining and cyanide heap leaching—the two most common georgia number data methods of extracting gold—have caused the death of hundreds of thousands of acres of natural habitat in the most biodiverse regions, including the Amazon rainforest.
The Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea pollutes the Pacific Ocean with more than 5 million tons of cyanide waste every year. According to Sampat, metals mining in the United States is the main source of toxic emissions into the air, water and land.
Illegal gold dust mining in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. Mining destroys large areas of land, affecting not only the environment but also the indigenous peoples who live in the area.
The gold mining industry is also linked to funding military conflicts. Approximately 80% of miners in Congo work in gold mines guarded by armed soldiers. The area is known for its high levels of crime, including illegal taxation.
Experts believe that these mining companies financed the wars in the Democratic Rep
The iPhone's cameras, wireless charging coils, and motherboards are made with gold. The weight of gold in the iPhone XS is less than 0.01% (0.018 grams) of the phone's weight, but Apple manufactured nearly 200 million phones in 2019.
If the iPhone uses raw gold, it may have been mined in a developing country and passed through several smelters and refineries, each of which produces waste and consumes energy.
Payal Sampat, director of the mining program at Earthworks, a nonprofit environmental organization, says that the production of one gold ring results in the production of an average of 20 tons of waste.
Mining and cyanide heap leaching—the two most common georgia number data methods of extracting gold—have caused the death of hundreds of thousands of acres of natural habitat in the most biodiverse regions, including the Amazon rainforest.
The Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea pollutes the Pacific Ocean with more than 5 million tons of cyanide waste every year. According to Sampat, metals mining in the United States is the main source of toxic emissions into the air, water and land.
Illegal gold dust mining in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. Mining destroys large areas of land, affecting not only the environment but also the indigenous peoples who live in the area.
The gold mining industry is also linked to funding military conflicts. Approximately 80% of miners in Congo work in gold mines guarded by armed soldiers. The area is known for its high levels of crime, including illegal taxation.
Experts believe that these mining companies financed the wars in the Democratic Rep