The Royal Mint is set to use silver sourced from x-ray films within its ‘886 by The Royal Mint’ jewellery collection to reduce its reliance on mined materials.
In partnership with Betts Metal, the coin maker will recycle x-ray film from hospitals to receive the monetary value of the silver that’s recovered.
Speaking with Financial Times, Betts managing director Charles Betts said for each kilogramme of X-ray films it processes, it extracts between two and five grams of silver, meaning that to make a single silver wedding band, weighing approximately 5g, will require around 50 sheets of X-ray film.
Traditional recovery of silver from X-ray film would involve burning the film. Betts said, however, says his company’s hydro-metallurgical process includes only mild acids (about 15ml per litre), making their process “comparatively low impact”.
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The Royal Mint chief growth officer Sean Millard said the partnership offers the company “a new source of recovered and traceable sustainable metal.”
“As part of The Royal Mint’s vision to transform for the future, our Precious Metals Recovery Business is committed to leading the development of pioneering solutions within the industry.
“For us, this means responsibly sourcing materials which have the potential to reuse our planet’s precious resources, whilst supporting a circular economy and enabling customers to access products that align with their values,” he added.
The partnership follows The Royal Mint opening its local energy centre which provides renewable energy for its 38-acre manufacturing site in Llantrisant.
A solar farm, an additional wind-turbine, a combined heat and power plant and battery storage were installed to form the new centre.
