Amid surging gold prices, Shanghai has introduced its first “gold recycling ATM“, drawing significant public interest, particularly from older residents seeking to cash in on the jewelry they’ve held for generations, Mining reported.
Located in Shanghai’s Global Harbor shopping mall, the new machine saw long queues of customers, with appointments booked through the upcoming May holiday. Social media posts circulating online showed that the machine provides a fast, transparent process: users deposit their gold items, which are then weighed, melted and assayed.
For instance, a 40-gram gold necklace was appraised at 785 yuan ($108) per gram, resulting in a payout of over 36,000 yuan ($4,900) within 30 minutes, correspondents from local news publication Chinatimes.net observed.
Operated by Shenzhen-based jeweller Kinghood Group, the ATM — which is built into the company’s Smart Gold Store concept — is designed to take gold items of over 3 grams with a purity of at least 50%.
The recycling process includes identity verification, melting at temperatures exceeding 1,000°C, and a second assay to determine purity. A service fee of 18 yuan ($2.50) per gram is deducted before funds are transferred to the user’s bank account.