The Royal Mint

AS THE COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR AT THE ROYAL MINT, WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

At the moment, a typical day sees me leading the implementation of a structure which will allow The Royal Mint to perform commercially when our precious metals recovery site is fully operational.

The Royal Mint is investing in a multimillion-pound plant, which, when fully operational in the autumn, will safely process thousands of tonnes of the UK’s electronic waste, extracting precious metals from circuit boards found in mobile phone and laptops. The gold will be used within the Royal Mint’s Jewellery collection, 886. As the home of precious metals, we are addressing a global electronic waste problem, setting new standards in sustainable precious metals and reducing our reliance upon mined precious metals.

My role entails recruitment, staff development, and implementing new procedures and systems; all elements to ensure the business is efficient when fully up and running. Furthermore, I spend time talking to potential partners, reviewing and contracting with suppliers, developing our proposition and marketing materials, identifying speaking opportunities and understanding the political landscape that will impact our business now and into the future.

I balance my time across The Royal Mint site in South Wales, my home office, and spending time with industry, all in equal measure. My role helps to support the business’ transformation strategy, ensuring it is fit for the 21st century.

WHAT ARE THE RECENT TRENDS OR CHALLENGES IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY?

The biggest challenge facing the manufacturing industry is adapting for net zero. Many processes can be carbon intensive due to demands on energy. Furthermore, when you start to consider scope 3 emissions within your supply chain, you don’t always have the ability to easily choose a less carbon intensive, or net zero option.

The disposal of printed circuit boards in the UK, until now, has been to collate and then ship them in bulk to a smelter in Europe or the Far East. This creates thousands of ‘waste’ miles, large amounts of CO2, and uses vast amounts of energy.

As the home of precious metals, sustainability is at the heart of The Royal Mint’s long-term strategy. Our new precious metals recovery site will allow us to set new standards in sustainable precious metals, allowing printed circuit boards to be processed more sustainably.

Many vertical markets face the same challenges in adapting for net zero, forcing them to search a little harder for solutions, invest in new technologies and sometimes, pay more- which forces you to find efficiencies elsewhere. I’m very confident that industries will find their way through and find solutions that in the long term will be cost advantageous, but it forces us all to think differently and to redefine what we mean by value. It’s not just financial.

COULD YOU PLEASE ELABORATE ON YOUR ROLE WITHIN THE ROYAL MINT AND ANY NEW INITIATIVES YOU ARE A PART OF?

The Royal Mint has been diversifying its business over a number of years to ensure it delivers for the future in a sustainable way. Later this year, we will open a multi-million-pound plant, which will safely and sustainably process thousands of tonnes of printed circuit boards from the UK’s electronic waste. The plant will recover the precious metals at ambient temperatures, whilst also treating all other elements of the board. It’s a world first and a key part of our net-zero plans.

We’re currently extracting precious metals from printed circuit boards at laboratory level and when the new plant is scaled up, it will provide a sustainable source of high-quality precious metals for the business, while offering a solution to the significant and growing environmental challenges around e-waste.

"For the recycling industry to maximise its recycling rates, it needs to be able to quickly identify different items and segregate accurately"

When fully operational, The Royal Mint expects to process up to 90 tonnes of UK-sourced circuit boards per week – which is the equivalent of around 90 small cars - generating hundreds of kilograms of gold per year, which we can use in our products, namely our 886 jewellery collection. Furthermore, it will support 40 jobs, helping existing employees to reskill, as well as recruiting new commercial professionals, chemists, and engineers.

As Commercial Director for Sustainable Precious Metals at The Royal Mint, my role centres around developing and implementing commercial strategies to ensure the success of the new plant. From the recruitment process - to ensure we have the right staff with the right skills - to embedding new systems and procedures, I’m involved at all levels. A large amount of my time is currently spent liaising with suppliers and speaking to potential partners who The Royal Mint can work with on this innovative new business.

ARE THERE ANY EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY THAT YOU ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT?

Whilst not strictly emerging technologies, robotics and artificial intelligence are starting to play a greater role within manufacturing. Talented engineers and integrators are vital to create a system that will deliver optimal results.

For the recycling industry to maximise its recycling rates, it needs to be able to quickly identify different items and segregate accurately. AI and computers can store and process data very quickly, making them extremely effective. As with all technologies though, investment is a barrier, both in terms of capital expenditure, and time to train the AI.

At The Royal Mint, we use vision sorting within some of the coin production processes as an additional quality measure, and also in our new precious metals waste recovery site. Gold is leached from the surface of printed circuit boards and the vision sorting; we use will separate boards containing gold from those that don’t.

Digital advancements have, and will continue to, enhance much of what we do, and as Britain’s oldest manufacturer, with a history spanning 1,100 years, British craftsmanship is at the heart of our business. We’re striving to become leaders in sustainable precious metals, investing in our operations, our people, supply chains and communities, and always with our customers in mind.

The Royal Mint has an ambitious transformation strategy, to grow the business and diversify to ensure it is fit for the 21st century. My role allows me to support the business in achieving these goals. It’s an exciting sector to be a part of.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR OTHER SENIOR LEADERS AND CXOS WORKING IN THE INDUSTRY?

The landscape is changing very quickly and if you want to remain relevant to your customers and stakeholders, credible sustainability strategies are critical. This is just one of the reasons that sustainability is at the heart of The Royal Mint’s five year-strategy.

We recycle surplus gold waste from bullion coins in our investment bars and The Royal Mint is an active member of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), working with refiners who are on the LBMA’s ‘Good Delivery List’ or full LBMA members.

We also have a responsible sourcing policy to ensure sustainability is embedded in everything we do. The Royal Mint’s Physical Gold ETC–RMAU–on the London Stock Exchange was one of the first ETCs to be backed by 100 percent post-2019 LBMA-approved gold bars.

The world will be a very different place in five years, and unless you are looking ahead, you won’t be moving quickly enough. New technologies will continue to become available; the scaling and mass adoption of which will be crucial.

Finally, I’d ask senior leaders to question how they’re currently handling their e-waste in a sustainable manner. Our new precious metals recovery site is launching in the autumn and we’re looking for feedstock suppliers who share our vision around tackling the significant and growing environmental challenges around e-waste in the UK.