Viral 'SIM Card Gold Rush' Video Sparks Online Frenzy

A recent viral video claiming to extract gold from old SIM cards has set Chinese social media abuzz, coinciding with soaring global gold prices surpassing US$5,000 per ounce. The clip shows a creator processing piles of discarded SIM cards and electronic chips through complex steps, ultimately yielding a 191.73-gram gold bar.

At current prices, that small gold ingot is worth over 200,000 yuan(US$28,743). The video fueled widespread speculation, with some short-video accounts asserting that a single SIM card contains 0.02 grams of gold, while others exaggerated that a single bank card chip holds 0.2 grams.

Amid the growing hype, the original creator clarified that the process actually required 2 tons of raw materials — not just SIM or bank cards — primarily gold-plated electronic waste, with much of the process not shown in the video.

Lin, a veteran in precious metal recovery, told China National Radio that while gold plating is commonly used in electronics from SIM cards to keyboards, online estimates are wildly inaccurate.

"A modern Nano-SIM card might yield about 0.02 milligrams of gold at best — a thousand times less than what's being shared online," he explained. "The base material is copper and nickel, with only an extremely thin gold layer."

Lin, who once extracted 1.93 grams of gold from over 9.7 kilograms of old SIM and IC cards — averaging 0.1 mg of gold per gram of cards — cautioned that the collection cost alone makes the process impractical for individuals.

Despite the high cost, the idea of "gold in SIM cards" has intrigued many. But why is gold used in these devices? According to Sun Yafei, a Tsinghua University chemistry PhD and science writer, gold is not for luxury but to combat corrosion.

"Copper circuits can oxidize over time, leading to failure. A micron-thin gold layer prevents this, ensuring reliability," he said, said the report.

The video's depiction of colorful chemicals and smoke, however, raises serious safety and legal concerns. Sun pointed out that extracting gold typically requires aqua regia — a highly corrosive mix of nitric and hydrochloric acids. "These chemicals are restricted and require police registration. Ordinary people lack the conditions to handle them safely," he warned. "The process is inefficient at small scale and generates hazardous waste, causing irreversible pollution if not treated professionally."