Precious metals refiner Mint Innovation will start mining in Sydney next year.

Then the New Zealand cleantech company has its sights on building a second biorefinery in North West England.

Mint Innovation has raised NZ$20 million to help build those plants, which are based on its proprietary biometallurgical process and scalable platform.

During successful trials at its first biorefinery in Auckland, Mint Innovation recovered significant amounts of gold and copper from crushed and powdered electronic waste.

Dr Will Barker, Mint Innovation’s CEO, says the Series B capital raise was led by New Zealand technology investor Movac, with strong support from around the globe, including Blackbird Ventures and major long term investor Icehouse Ventures.

“This raise gives us the capital we need to deploy our technology, starting with the Greater Sydney biorefinery in early 2021,” Dr Barker says. “Once commissioned, the plant will be able to process up to 3,500 tonnes of electronic waste each year.

“That’s enough capacity to turn all the waste circuit boards in New South Wales into precious metals, including gold and copper. Ideally those metals will be sold back to local businesses, such as jewellers and manufacturers, creating a truly circular economy.”

 Movac partner David Beard says the future for Mint Innovation lies in its plant design and technology being licensed for biorefineries to be built in cities around the world.

“With the disposal of e-waste a growing issue, as countries like Mainland China close their doors to importing waste, a disruptive cleantech company like Mint Innovation has the potential to establish a global footprint quite quickly,” he says.

Dr Barker says the second plant is expected to start being built later next year. The North West of England has a heritage in chemical process innovation and Mint Innovation wants to bring clean tech to an area with which Dr Barker is familiar, having grown up in the UK.

 “There is a lot of recycling of e-waste by governments and cities, but our technology provides a new dimension to creating a circular economy,” he says. “Imagine the gold in your old laptop might end up as a ring on a person’s finger – or being re-used in new devices.”