The University of Edinburgh has licensed an innovative gold and copper recovery process to mineral processing company Lithium Universe, enabling cleaner extraction of high‑value metals from electronic waste (e‑waste).
Developed by Professor Jason Love and Professor Carole Morrison in the School of Chemistry, and commercialised with support from Edinburgh Innovations, the Gold Copper Diamide Extraction (GCDE) process uses organic compounds to selectively extract metals from discarded electronics. Under an exclusive worldwide licence, Lithium Universe will deploy and sub‑licence the technology globally as part of its expanding precious metals recycling strategy.
E‑waste is one of the world’s fastest-growing hazardous waste streams, projected to reach around 93.5 million tonnes by 2030. Yet only about 20% is recycled using environmentally sound methods.
This waste is valuable, as devices and printed circuit boards are rich in gold and copper. At current prices, the gold content of one tonne of typical e‑waste is worth more than US$46,000, with copper adding roughly US$2,000.
But traditional e‑waste processing relies on furnace smelting above 1,200°C or aggressive leaching, both energy‑intensive and polluting.
The GCDE process instead uses low‑temperature hydrometallurgy and small, reusable organic ligands to target metals in sequence, under mild conditions and avoiding cyanide, mercury and organic solvent extraction.
Professor Love said:
Electronic waste is effectively a high‑grade ‘urban ore’. Our goal was to design chemistry that can recover those metals selectively and safely, without the energy and environmental cost of smelting.
The diamide behaves like a molecular magnet for gold. By following with a selective copper step, we can recover two of the most valuable metals in e‑waste with high purity and lower environmental impact. ”
Lithium Universe plans to integrate GCDE into its Precious Metals Recycling Division, alongside its silver recovery technologies for end‑of‑life solar panels.
Executive chair Iggy Tan said:
This breakthrough from the University of Edinburgh reinforces the strategic expansion of our Precious Metals Recycling Division into high-value recovery technologies. Our team is highly encouraged by the potential of this clean chemistry innovation. By integrating selective metal recovery with sustainable processing, Lithium Universe Limited strengthens its competitive position in circular-economy solutions for gold, silver, and copper recovery. ”
Dr Susan Bodie, Director of Innovation Development and Licensing at Edinburgh Innovations said:
This collaboration shows how fundamental chemistry can deliver practical solutions to global sustainability challenges. By partnering with an industrial scale‑up specialist, we can ensure this technology has real‑world impact in the circular economy for electronic materials. ”
