They confiscated 5 taels of gold from unregistered SIM cards.

The amount of gold extracted from over 2 tons of raw materials. Photo: Qiao the Gold Refiner .

Amid soaring global gold prices, a recently viral video claiming to extract gold from old SIM cards has caused a stir on Chinese social media. The clip shows a creator processing piles of discarded SIM cards and electronic chips through a series of complex steps, ultimately yielding a 191.73-gram gold bar.

At current prices, this small gold bar is worth more than 200,000 RMB (equivalent to $28,743 ). The video has sparked much speculation. Some commenters remarked that each SIM card contains 0.02 grams of gold, while others exaggerated that a chip on a bank card could contain up to 0.2 grams.

Amidst the growing viral spread, the author clarified that the process actually requires two tons of raw materials. It's not just SIM cards or bank cards; the main input is gold-plated electronic waste. He stated that most of the steps were not shown in the video.

Lin, a person with extensive experience in the field of precious metal recovery, shared with China National Radio that gold plating is quite commonly used in electronic devices, from SIM cards to keyboards. However, estimates circulating online are seriously inaccurate.

“A modern nano-SIM card, under the best conditions, can only yield about 0.02 milligrams of gold. That's 1,000 times less than what's being shared online,” he explained. The base material is primarily copper and nickel, coated with only an extremely thin layer of gold.

Lin once extracted 1.93 grams of gold from over 9.7 kg of old SIM cards and IC cards, averaging about 0.1 mg of gold per gram of card. He also cautioned that the cost of collection alone makes the process unfeasible for individuals.

Many people remain curious about the idea of gold in SIM cards despite the high cost. According to Sun Yafei, a PhD in chemistry from Tsinghua University and a frequent contributor to scientific research, the gold is for corrosion resistance and does not increase the cost of materials.

"Copper circuits can oxidize over time, leading to failure. A thin layer of gold, only a few micrometers thick, will prevent that, ensuring reliability," according to one of his scientific papers.

However, the video footage of the multicolored chemicals and fumes raised serious safety and legal concerns. Sun said that gold extraction typically requires aqua regia, a highly corrosive mixture of nitric acid and hydrochloric acid.

"These chemicals are tightly controlled and must be registered with the police. Ordinary people don't have the means to handle them safely," he warned. This process would be inefficient on a small scale and would generate hazardous waste, causing irreversible pollution without professional handling.

Regarding the video clip, the author stated that their precious metal recycling process is strictly managed and targets specific types of electronic waste. The refining process takes several weeks and includes steps that must be performed in a professional environment with adequate equipment and protective measures.

"The purpose of sharing the video is to showcase the recycling process and its value, not to create hype," he said.