100% precious metal will be recovered with new technology

US researchers have discovered a completely new technology that separates gold, silver, copper from the rocks and ores, with a recovery rate of approximately 100 percent.

Their technology is to use nanoparticles attached to the material and to bring them into air bubbles in the separator.

Robert Pelton and colleagues at the American Chemical Society explain that companies use foam technology to handle about 450 million tons of mineral per year. They crushed the minerals into small particles, putting them into water to extract valuable metal particles from the rock. Water contains substances that are 'picking' , ie they can stick to valuable particles, causing them to dehydrate and rise to the top for easy retrieval.

Foaming Technology to Reclaim Metal from Ore (Photo: Flick)

Using the new 'collector' technology, researchers use nanoparticles with water repulsion. In the laboratory, they use glass beads to simulate mineral particles in reality. The nanoparticles adhere to glass particles so that the separation can achieve a recovery rate of nearly 100%.