MTM Strikes Gold – Literally – with Ultra-High-Grade E-Waste Recovery Breakthrough and US Supply Deal
If alchemy was ever real, it just found a modern cousin in MTM Critical Metals (ASX: MTM), which has just unveiled an astonishing technological leap in e-waste processing that turns discarded electronics into literal treasure. The West Perth-based outfit announced on 10 April a breakthrough in recovering ultra-high-grade metals from printed circuit boards (PCBs), with gold grades topping 551 grams per tonne and silver at a glittering 2,804 g/t—figures that leave traditional mining grades in the dust.
MTM’s proprietary Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology is at the heart of this metallurgical magic. The single-step, acid-free process converts metal-rich e-waste into water-soluble metal chlorides using high-voltage electrical pulses, avoiding the nasty environmental downsides of traditional smelting or hydrometallurgical techniques. The company reports recovery rates of 100% for gold and titanium, and north of 90% for silver, tin, and zinc—a rare trifecta of efficiency, economics, and environmental sustainability.
But it’s not just the lab results that have investors sitting up straighter. MTM also announced a transformative five-year e-scrap supply agreement with U.S. recycling heavyweight Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations. The deal locks in a minimum 700 tonnes per annum (TPA), targeting up to 800 TPA, of high-grade PCB waste—a consistent feedstock critical to scaling commercial operations. The agreement includes stiff penalties for under-delivery, giving MTM a rare level of supply chain certainty in the volatile recycling sector.
“This agreement ensures a scalable, long-term supply,” said CEO Michael Walshe, “and combined with our breakthrough gold recovery results, MTM now has both the technology and the supply chain to underpin a robust commercial rollout and strategic partnerships.”
It’s a crucial milestone in MTM’s pivot from developer to operator. The processed material in the recent test runs didn’t come from Dynamic, but rather a separate U.S. partner specialising in converting plastics to synthesis gas (syngas), leaving behind a metal-rich char. This was the feedstock subjected to MTM’s FJH process—demonstrating the flexibility of the technology across varying input types.
What’s more, the U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly taken an interest in MTM’s domestic, sustainable process. That’s not a trivial endorsement in a geopolitical climate increasingly focused on supply chain security for critical and strategic materials.
MTM’s FJH approach offers a suite of advantages over traditional techniques:
Speed: What takes hours in smelters happens in milliseconds via FJH.
Energy efficiency: FJH uses significantly less energy than high-temperature smelting.
Environmental benefit: No acids, no toxic slag—just clean chemistry.
Versatility: Recovers high and trace metals alike in a single step.
Economic upside: E-waste tested had over 100 times the gold content of conventional ore, and MTM only pays for recoverable metal value based on assay results.
The financial upside here is hard to overstate. With gold prices hovering around US$100,000/kg and silver near US$1,000/kg, MTM’s recovery rates from scrap electronics rival (and in many cases outperform) traditional mining. Plus, the e-waste market is forecast to balloon from US$57.8 billion in 2022 to a whopping US$244.6 billion by 2032.
Next up for MTM? A demonstration plant in Texas, due online by Q4 2025, and the finalisation of its long-form agreement with Dynamic. It’s also eyeing expansion into Japan, Taiwan, and Europe, where regulations and demand for clean recovery solutions are gathering pace.
As MTM transitions from lab tests to large-scale rollout, the company’s combination of cutting-edge tech and locked-in supply could set the benchmark for a new era in urban mining. After all, who needs a pick and shovel when your next gold rush comes from a busted old iPhone?