As medical implants become more common, more and more people are dying with all kinds of metals within their bodies. Gold, titanium, palladium, silver, and many other metals are frequently found in cardiac implants, neurostimulators, dental implants, and artificial joints.
A company called OrthoMetals, based in The Netherlands, is essentially mining these metals from recently deceased bodies around the world. They have developed the necessary technology and partnered with hundreds of crematoria to separate metals from bones and ash that remain after a cremation.
The crematoria get a cut of the profits, which are typically given to charity, and the company makes a profit for itself. In the meantime, rare and expensive metals are returned to be reused in other industries, helping to make death in the modern world a bit less of an environmental nuisance.
More info on how all this works from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: How crematoriums are recovering precious metals from inside the dead…
Link: OrthoMetals…