Eco Metals Recovery

CASE STUDY 2 ENVIROLEACHTECHNOLOGIES SETTOOVERHAUL MINING SECTORWITH ECO-FRIENDLY GOLD LEACHING FORMULA ▲ EnviroLeach Technologies has caught the attention of more than 140 mining firms, manufacturers and recyclers of electronics in more than 17 different countries. ▲ The EnviroLeach reagent is as effective as cyanide in gold extraction, tests show ▲ EnviroLeach Technologies (CSE:ETI) is shaking up the mining industry by offering an environmentally friendly alternative to widely used toxic methods of extracting gold from ores and electronic waste. Many miners rely on cyanide and acid based leaching to recover precious metals from ores, concentrates and electronic waste. More than 76% of all gold is produced via hydrometallurgical extraction that utilizes cyanide. ▲ While cyanide is an effective extraction medium due to its high gold recoveries and low cost, it is also potentially deadly to humans as well as fish, birds and other wildlife if used incorrectly. EnviroLeach is trying to change this by producing a non- cyanide, non-acid based formula that is not only eco-friendly but actually contains food-grade additives that are fit for human consumption as nutritional supplements and medicines, including the treatment of some cancers. ▲ Chief Executive Officer Duane Nelson says the formula is mixed with tap water so you can “effectively drink it” before the solution is chemically altered using electrical currents passing through diamond based electrodes supplied by De Beers. ▲ “We’re really the only company that offers any type of environmentally friendly solution for the recovery of metals for both the mining and e-waste sectors,” Nelson says. EnviroLeach has proven in recent tests that along with being better for the environment, its formula is also just as effective as cyanide leaching for ores and concentrates, and hot acid solutions for e-waste. During seven months of extensive hydrometallurgical tests of its formula on electronic waste, the company achieved gold recoveries of over 90% in periods of less than two hours. ▲ Electronic waste, or e-waste, includes devices such as mobile phones, TVs and computer components that are thought to contain as much as 7% of the world’s gold. ▲ EnviroLeach found that when it tested its formula on e-waste – specifically printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA) used in electronic devices – it provided similar leach kinetics to conventional acid based extraction methods. In contrast to current cyanide and acid based extraction, the study found the EnviroLeach reagent was safer to handle and functioned just as effectively at low temperatures and near neutral pH levels.