A team of scientists has discovered that approximately 43 kilograms of gold are lost through wastewater in Switzerland each year. This is the equivalent of 1.8 million dollars lost in the sewers of the country.
In a study, published by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Sciences and Technologies, they found that many waste of gold was accumulated in sewage and sediments, although such a concentration does not pose a public health risk. The real problem is the amount of money that is being lost in the pipes.
Most of the world's gold passes through the refineries of Switzerland (to be exact, approximately 70%). During the process, many wastes and even small fragments are discarded, which means that millions of dollars in gold and other valuable metals are wasted every year. After all, in addition to gold they also found that every year about 3,000 kilos of silver (equivalent to 1.7 million dollars) are lost in the Swiss sewers.
Researchers say some of that gold could be recovered, especially in areas where the concentration is higher. [Eawag via Verge / Bloomberg]