In China, a man has gone viral after he started extracting gold from old SIM cards. Yes, the seemingly disposable chip could be turned into a profitable commodity. But how far can this be practicable? The man in question is certainly liking his gig, though. Let’s explore further.
The person is known online as Qiao, based in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. By profession, he extracts and purifies precious metals. But on January 20, he shot to wider recognition after showing his gold mining from SIM cards. The report comes from the South China Morning Post.
In the video, Qiao is seen keeping SIM cards in drums laden with chemicals. The process follows multiple stages, and later, he extracts gold sludge. He obtained 191 grams of gold in the process, which is worth 200,000 yuan or NRS 4,214,320. But the drums had not just old SIM cards but other scrap metals too, and they weighed 2 tons. He said that they were using different types of chip waste from the telecommunications industry.
He said that gold is used in SIM cards for
- Durability
- Corrosion resistance
Also, check out: How to Save SIM Card From Damage For Their Long Lifetime
How much gold is used in SIM cards?
The media outlets have reported that a typical physical SIM card uses less than 0.001 grams of gold. But it’s not just the SIM cards; the precious metal is used in bank card chips and other such items in the telecom industries. And in this case, we are not talking about eSIM. They are virtual, and there’s no chip and gold for the user end.
Extracting gold from SIM cards: possible or impractical?
But before you get excited, though, there’s something you need to take note of. Qiao has said that while getting some gold out of the SIM cards may be possible, it can prove dangerous for ordinary people to even try, the Morning Post reports.
He also said that the metal scraps, including SIM cards, he possesses are legally obtained. But for ordinary people, it can not just be risky to health, but may also attract legal action. He said that he simply wanted to share his skills through the video rather than enticing people into the gold rush.
