CITY MINER STORY

The rongsok goods stack looks inside a large truck on a shelter, the electronic waste material is a used electronic rongsokan item that is commonly found at home, office or most not in the place of electronic service.

The goods are electronic equipment that has become waste, ironically this type of waste is very rapid growth. Even United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) United Nations recorded electronic waste in the world grew 40 million tons per year. It is due to electronic goods has operational life and also human consumable attitude that always wants new products.

But from harmful waste to the environment, there turns out that there are valuable materials besides metals and plastics, among others silver, paladium, platina, routenium, even gold. This valuable material that encourages the emergence of "city miners", alias electronic junk seekers (e-waste) seeking gold and other valuable materials by processing the waste.

Capital atmosphere with the background of office buildings.

The scavenger takes the electronics belonging to the citizens disposal in the bin.

The city miners are looking for electronic waste such as television and computer hardware, the parts of the components sought primarily are the connector parts and contacts on the circuit board as it contains gold that serves as an electrical delivery component on low voltage devices or low currents. Data from the Wired magazine shows that one average mobile phone unit is estimated to contain 0.2 grams of gold, generally there is on the SIM card, logic board and components behind the LCD screen.

A city miner in Jakarta tells that they are looking for waste in waste disposal, come to a collection of rongsok goods or participated in auction of electronic items sold by a company. After that they separate the existing components of the golden content.

Gold is taken by burning components containing gold, burned to separate from plastic components, after which it is processed using chemicals namely hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide and mercury. After successfully striped the golden part then melted with chemicals in the form of ulcer. To get 99.9 percent pure gold should be done the purification process using hard water fluid to separate other metal elements that still stick to the gold.

Sebuah electronic waste freight carrier truck.

Electronic sewage wipes provide components for resale.

After the process is more 2-3 days, it can be obtained by 99.9 percent of pure gold and can be processed back into jewelry with high selling value.

Photo and Text: Muhammad Adimaja

Tubing Printed Circuit Board (PCB).

Warga watch soccer at the sale of used electronic goods.

Pelebur wash gold obtained from electronic waste.

The heated mercury rate to sort components between gold and silver.

The gold melting person whose skin is affected by chemical liquid.

Pelebur pours mercury fluid to sort components between gold and silver.

The electronic waste melting person conducts the process of making gold from the component.

Gold plate is indicated.

The reflection of the eyes of a melted gold.

Golden stew shows pure gold disassembling.

Leman (62), electronic waste goods wipe owner poses above electronic waste goods stack.

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