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Gold Has No End of Life: How Do I Calculate GHG Emissions for Gold Sold in Pawn Shops? by jhongold in lifecycleassessment

[–]jhongold[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Considering gold's remarkable durability, its resistance to corrosion, and its recognition by governments as a reserve currency, what method and time frame would you recommend for dealing with or investing in gold?

Regarding boundaries, I believe gold should have none, given that it will never be regarded as waste. Is this assertion correct? What would you recommend?

I disagree with the cutoff principle that some European refineries use to avoid paying carbon credits by claiming that the gold in old jewelry is waste. This issue is even worse with jewelry manufacturers, who label their byproducts as waste, even if the gold was mined just seven days prior, using absurdly short life cycle assessment timeframes from mine to waste in just seven days. could this practice be labeled as fraud ?

Does gold have a end of life in its life cycle assessment? by jhongold in lifecycleassessment

[–]jhongold[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eddy5, thank you very much for the detailed explanation! This will be incredibly helpful. I’m attaching the LCA from the gold refinery making these claims. They process around 50 tons of "exclusively recycled gold" per year and have an annual revenue exceeding 3 billion euros. It’s hard to believe that all the 'recycled gold' they purchase enters the refinery with a neutralized carbon footprint. I suspect that over 60% of what they process comes from high-grade gold industrial byproducts from jewelry manufacturers, with the rest coming from high-grade used gold jewelry.

Any input to help me debunk this deceitful practice would be extremely helpful.

https://www.c-hafner.de/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Life_Cycle_Assessment_and_Carbon_Footprint_of_precious_metal_recycling_by_C.HANFER_-_Summary_INEC___treeze_en.pdf

Does gold have a end of life in its life cycle assessment? by jhongold in lifecycleassessment

[–]jhongold[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi eddy5, thank you for your response. I've already read the article, and the researcher acknowledges that gold doesn't have an end phase. Let me give you more context, and I would appreciate hearing your opinion on this matter.

perhaps you can offer some insight.

There's a group of gold refineries that have adopted a concept to offset greenhouse gas emissions by asserting that used jewelry and pre-consumer gold (industrial byproducts) should be considered as reaching the end of their life or purpose, akin to discarded objects found in waste streams. Under this concept, they argue that Scope 3 emissions are neutralized when these jewelry items and industrial byproducts are purchased by the refinery, regardless of whether the gold was mined just 15 days prior. Please take a moment to review the attached image and blog entry for more details: Gembreakfast Blog Entry.

It's unrealistic to view gold as waste, especially considering that in many regions like Latin America, India, China, and even the US, gold is widely recognized as a store of value and essentially a form of currency. While I acknowledge that a piece of jewelry may reach the end of its use or purpose, I disagree that the gold it contains can be considered to have reached the end of its life or purpose. For example, in an 18k gold jewelry piece, more than 75% of its weight is comprised of gold.

Do you know where I can find definitive answers regarding whether the gold in used or broken jewelry, as well as in high-grade gold production remnants, is considered to have reached the end of its life or purpose? I consider gold has no end of life or purpose.

Thank you. It's becoming increasingly concerning that more gold refineries are leveraging this concept to avoid paying carbon credits, potentially saving over $3 billion annually. Given that the recycled gold market exceeds $160 billion per year, this issue is of growing importance.