Bringing new life to old electronics
At Boliden, we’re passionate about broken electronic appliances. Why? Because we can give them a new life. We smelt the metals that, once upon a time, were your old coffee machine, HDMI cables or TV so that they can bring to life new products. Your old mobile or computer could even become someone else’s wedding rings.
Boliden’s plant in Rönnskär, just outside of the Swedish town of Skellefteå, is one of the world’s most effective copper smelters. The plant produces over 200 000 tonnes of copper, 400 tonnes of silver and 13 tonnes of gold. Every year. It is also a world leader in electronics recycling and on top of that, takes care of the by-products from steel mills, brass foundries and power stations. Other people’s residual materials can become our raw materials.
Perhaps we talk a bit too much about recycling, yet it’s important to us. We’re a metals company with our own mines and smelters and metal recycling facilities. It means that every piece of metal we receive can ultimately be turned into something new. The great thing with metal is that, unlike plastic and paper, it can be recycled infinitely without ever losing its properties or quality.
We know that the world’s resources won’t last forever. We’re working with a finite resource that is taken from the ground. Mines will be needed in the future since more and more products are being made using metals or depend on metals to be produced. But together, we can help take better care of the earth’s resources efficiently. It’s simple. You recycle your old electronic goods, and we’ll take care of what you no longer use.
It’s called the circular economy. We re-use what’s already there, and if we do that, then the earth’s resources will last much much longer.
Your old electronic goods are more than gold and copper. They’re our future.