UK coins minted from unethical metals

The copper and nickel used to mint British coins is sourced from environmentally destructive mines, a MailOnline investigation has uncovered.

Raw materials used by the government-owned Royal Mint have been linked to water shortages and hazardous pollution in Chile, and rainforest destruction in Madagascar.

The revelation comes despite a commitment from the Mint to “only select suppliers that use environmentally balanced practices”.

The Royal Mint casts 20,000 tons of copper and nickel alloys every year, producing three billion coins for use in countries around the world.

Last year the Royal Mint made a profit in excess of £8 million.

The 28.2 billion coins in UK circulation are made with at least 75% copper or at least 25% nickel.

Metals bought by the Mint are purchased on the London Metal Exchange (LME) and companies chosen are not subject to ethical checks.

Greenpeace expects the investigation to act as a wake up call to ethical consumers.

“That the very thing we handle every day, the money we use to shop ethically, to buy organically, is in all likelihood unethical, will come as an enormous jolt to consumers,” said Fiona Musana, communications director at Greenpeace Africa.

“Copper and nickel open-cast mining tear a horrific and unrecoverable swathe through some of the most pristine wildernesses on Earth.

“It is one of the most significant pieces of negligence in our society today that the Royal Mint does not ethically source its metals.”