Charlotte’s identity as a financial center was established long before the big banks moved in.
North Carolina led the nation in gold production until 1848, when it was eclipsed by the great rush to California. Reed Gold Mine — just outside of Charlotte — is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. From this discovery, gold mining spread gradually to nearby counties and eventually into other southern states.
Carol and Peter Jegou are bringing gold mining back to Charlotte … with a twist.
“Most people think gold comes from the ground,” Carol said. “There’s more gold sitting in our electronics than in the mines.”
Founded originally in New Jersey in 2014, All Green Recycling took up headquarters in the Queen City in 2017, becoming the first and only Certified B Corporation in Charlotte. AGR provides secure asset recovery and end-of-life management for a broad range of electronic waste, from computers to medical equipment. Services also include management of returns, refurbishment of still-useful items, re-use/re-sale and complete recycling.
So, where exactly is all the gold?
Sitting inside almost every electronic item is a circuit board. These circuit boards are made with precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, palladium and copper.
AGR’s proprietary process to extract gold and other precious metals from discarded circuit boards is sustainable. This hydrometallurgical (water-based metal extraction) process is environmentally safe as it doesn't use any toxic chemicals and does not emit any toxins into the air or in the water supply. The solution can also be recycled and reused an unlimited amount of times. Even the lab equipment at AGR is recycled.
“The city is so centered around fintech,” Carol said. “We’re not fintech, but gold is gold and that’s never going to change. We’ve got a solid commodity.”
Right now gold is valued at more than $1,500 per ounce.
When the Jegous moved to Charlotte, they hired chemists and developed the process and their own lab, which sits in the heart of NoDa. Their first patent was approved in December 2018. AGR is close to receiving its second patent.
“Peter had experience in the environmental science industry and he felt there had to be a cleaner way to extract precious metals from circuit boards,” Carol said.
Typically, electronic waste materials undergo smelting — a process using extreme heat — to extract metals.
“Smelting causes environmental issues and in Charlotte, we have none of that,” Peter said. “We are the only one that can do what we do without using harsh acids.”
AGR’s Charlotte lab has the capacity to process 50,000 to 100,000 pounds of circuit boards a month.
This week, Certified B Corporation named AGR as Best for the World in both the environment and community sectors.
AGR’s future includes licensing its process to other markets.
“It was designed to be modular so it can be replicated,” she said. “We have other companies interested in licensing, but we’d like to get through our buildout.”
But getting the process ready for replication is not only good business, but good for the planet.
“From an environmental standpoint, this needs to get out in the world,” Carol said. “This can eliminate carbon footprints and the toxicity of smelting.”
