MTM Critical Metals (ASX: MTM) has taken another significant step in the commercialisation of its cutting-edge Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology, with today’s announcement detailing strong silver and copper recovery from electronic waste (e-waste). This adds to the company’s recent success in gold recovery, as MTM positions itself at the forefront of sustainable, efficient metal extraction.
High Yields from E-Waste
The latest test results show MTM’s FJH technology achieved impressive recoveries of 67% for silver and 48% for copper from printed circuit boards (PCBs), following earlier breakthroughs in gold recovery, where yields reached 70%. These recoveries were achieved without the use of harmful acids, marking a significant improvement over traditional recycling methods.
MTM’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Walshe, expressed optimism about the potential of FJH: "Building on our gold recovery success, these silver and copper results highlight the broad application of FJH technology. As demand for cleaner, more efficient metal extraction grows, FJH is well-placed to lead the charge towards more sustainable e-waste recycling solutions".
The Science Behind FJH: A Rice University Innovation
At the heart of MTM’s success is its partnership with Rice University in the United States. It was researchers at Rice University who developed and perfected the Flash Joule Heating technology, originally designed for rapid heating in a controlled atmosphere to extract metals from various feedstocks, including e-waste. All the testing of this revolutionary process has been conducted at Rice's renowned facilities in Houston, Texas.
Founded in 1912, Rice University is an elite private research institution known for its strong emphasis on applied science and engineering. The university’s research output has gained global recognition, and the FJH technology is one of its latest scientific breakthroughs. The technology was initially explored for urban mining applications, with the potential to recover precious metals from electronic waste and eventually expanded to other critical metals.
MTM holds an exclusive global license from Rice University for the commercialisation of this FJH technology, enabling it to apply the process across all metallic minerals and ores—except graphene, which is handled separately by Rice. This exclusive deal ensures MTM has a first-mover advantage in using FJH to extract metals like lithium, gallium, gold, silver, and copper from a variety of sources.
Environmentally Friendly and Scalable
The sustainability of FJH technology lies in its ability to recover metals without the environmental drawbacks of traditional methods like smelting or chemical leaching. These conventional approaches often involve toxic chemicals or high energy consumption, leading to large-scale emissions and waste. In contrast, MTM’s process works by flash heating the e-waste in a chlorine gas atmosphere, vaporising the target metals for easy collection.
The simplicity of the process is noteworthy. After vaporisation, a water-washing step captures the metal chlorides, allowing MTM to separate valuable metals without the use of harsh reagents. This makes FJH not only a greener alternative but potentially a cheaper one, with significant reductions in energy use and capital expenditure compared to established recycling techniques.
Tapping Into a Global Problem
The growing global e-waste problem provides a substantial market opportunity for MTM’s technology. With over 60 million metric tonnes of e-waste generated annually and only about 20% of that recycled, vast quantities of valuable metals are currently being lost to landfills or incineration. PCBs, for example, can contain up to 1,300 grams of silver and 300 grams of gold per tonne, making e-waste a rich "above-ground" resource with minimal exploration risk.
Despite these potential riches, current recycling practices are inefficient and environmentally harmful, often relying on energy-intensive pyrometallurgy or acid-heavy hydrometallurgy. These methods not only produce harmful emissions but struggle with lower recovery rates for certain metals. By offering a cleaner, more efficient alternative, MTM’s FJH technology has the potential to disrupt the global e-waste recycling market.
Looking ahead, MTM is focused on optimising its FJH technology for even higher recovery rates. The company is planning to refine the process further and is gearing up for the construction of a 1-tonne-per-day demonstration plant, slated to be operational by mid-2025. This facility will be a major step towards proving the commercial viability of FJH and scaling it up to meet industrial demands for critical metals recovery.
In addition to e-waste, MTM is applying FJH to other feedstocks such as spodumene, where the technology has already shown promising results in lithium extraction. This positions MTM as a key player in both the critical minerals and e-waste recycling spaces, addressing some of the biggest sustainability challenges facing the mining and tech industries today.
Conclusion
MTM’s exclusive partnership with Rice University and its pioneering Flash Joule Heating technology place the company at the cutting edge of the e-waste revolution. With its ability to extract valuable metals from discarded electronics efficiently and sustainably, MTM is well-positioned to capitalise on the global shift towards greener, more responsible resource management.
As CEO Michael Walshe puts it, “The demand for efficient, environmentally friendly metal extraction is only going to grow. MTM’s FJH technology offers a solution that could reshape the future of metal recovery.”
