Swiss Sewage Gold Discovery

Switzerland’s sewage system contains millions of dollars worth of precious metals each year, including gold and silver. A 2017 study of 64 wastewater treatment plants estimated that about 6,600 pounds of silver and nearly 100 pounds of gold pass through Swiss sewage annually. Much of the gold originates from gold-refining operations. In most places the metals are too widely dispersed to recover economically.

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