Gold on a scrap circuit board.

Gold is a key metal for e-scrap processors. | Don Bendickson/Shutterstock

Prices for an important precious metal increased notably in recent weeks, raising the value of recovered printed circuit boards.

Gold is trading for just above $1,800 per ounce, and last week the commodity hit its highest price since September 2011, according to Reuters. Prices relaxed slightly this week, with spot gold trading for $1,801 per ounce as of Wednesday.

And the value of the metal may move further upward.

“The combination of global central bank easing, geopolitical risks, the persisting pandemic impact and global recession could continue to push gold prices higher in the medium term,” Reuters quoted from a Bank of China International analyst’s report .

Gold is a key metal for e-scrap processors. There is about 10 ounces of gold per metric ton of circuit boards from phones, according to HOBI International, a Dallas-based mobile phone processor. The company shared that average figure with E-Scrap News this week.

The amount of gold in a circuit board varies based on the model and age of an asset, as materials composition has shifted over the years.

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