If our equipment is recycled properly, then we could expect the following:
Dismantling of scrapped equipment in Ghana, separating the out various components into different fractions. This would increase the value of each fraction, and creates opportunities for new business and employment.
Transport of the various fractions to different clients. Iron may be sold to smelters in Ghana, while components such as computer motherboards and the innards of mobile phones may be shipped to smelters in Europe or elsewhere. Even certain plastics can be shipped to recyclers who can use them in the manufacture of new plastic products.
Once the motherboards and similar items arrive at a smelter, these are crushed, mixed into a homogeneous batch, sampled and analysed. The supplier would be paid on the basis of this analysis. The batch of crushed material is then fed into a smelter, just as concentrate from a mine would have been. The smelters produce metals in the form of ingots or plates. The contained plastics are burnt in a closed and safe environment, yielding heat for the generation of steam. This is used for generation of electric power, more than is needed for the smelting process. Excess steam is often pumped to nearby towns where it is used for heating of houses and other buildings.
The following infograohic is from Boliden's website and describes in simple terms how the scrap is smelted and how the process yields more energy than it needs. Visit the Boliden website for a full description of what they do at Ronskar, including more images.
Batches of precious metals that can be sold to a refining company for extraction of individual precious metals and rare earth elements. The following picture was taken from from Boliden's website, please visit it for more information about Boliden's copper production:
