Gold Recycling Explained: Old Gold, New Gold

Recycled gold supplies roughly a quarter to a third of the annual gold market — typically 1,000 to 1,200 tonnes a year, according to the World Gold Council, against about 3,000 tonnes of mine production. It is the second-largest source of gold supply, larger than any single mining country.

Recycling rises when the gold price rises: high prices draw old jewellery out of drawers and safes, as owners sell to cash in. It falls when prices fall. Recycling is therefore a natural stabiliser — it increases supply when prices are high and reduces it when they are low.

The largest source is old jewellery — pieces sold by individuals to jewellers, pawnbrokers and gold-buying shops, especially in India, the Middle East and Europe. When gold prices rise, jewellery selling surges: families sell inherited pieces, broken chains and out-of-fashion designs.

The second source is electronics: phones, computers and circuit boards contain tiny amounts of gold (a phone has about 0.03 grams), but with billions of devices discarded each year, the total is significant. Industrial scrap — from dentistry, manufacturing and minting — supplies the rest.

Recycled gold is collected, sorted and melted by refiners — the large refineries in Switzerland, the UAE, India and elsewhere. The gold is assayed, refined to 99.99% purity, and cast into new bars or made into new jewellery. Refined recycled gold is chemically identical to newly mined gold — there is no way to tell them apart, and no difference in value.

The process is fast and efficient: old jewellery can become a new bar within days. Unlike mining, which takes years from discovery to production, recycling responds to price within weeks — which is why it smooths the market so effectively.

Recycling gold avoids mining: every tonne of recycled gold is a tonne that does not need to be dug from the ground, with all the rock, water, energy and waste that mining involves. The carbon footprint of recycled gold is a fraction of mined gold's.

That is why 'recycled gold' has become a selling point for environmentally conscious buyers and jewellers. Some mints and jewellers now offer certified recycled gold products — though buyers should check the certification, since 'recycled' claims are not always independently verified.

For anyone selling old gold, recycling is the market you are selling into. The price you get is the gold content value minus the buyer's margin and refining costs — which is why selling to a jeweller or a reputable gold buyer pays more than selling to a pawnshop, and why knowing your gold's weight and purity before you sell is essential.

High gold prices are the best time to sell old gold: recycling demand is strong, buyers compete for scrap, and the price you receive is at its best. Low prices are the time to hold — unless you need the money, in which case the price is what it is.