Mint Innovation

Mint Innovation has a vision to be the world’s leading provider of circular green metals to help restore our planet.

Mint’s commercialised technology is revolutionising the e-waste sector with a low-carbon, local and circular solution that recovers critical and precious metals from printed circuit boards (PCBs), central processing units (CPUs), and microchips in end-of-life electronics.

The technology uses a combination of naturally occurring biomass and smart chemistry to process e-waste in a low-impact, cost-effective way, returning critical materials to local economies. Having successfully taken the PCB recycling technology to a commercial scale, Mint is expanding the technology platform with a low-carbon solution for extracting lithium, cobalt, and nickel from lithium-ion batteries.

Our patented technology was recognised at COP28 as a runner-up in the ‘Outstanding Projects’ category by Mission Innovation’s Net-Zero Awards and won the 2023 InnovationAus awards for Advanced Manufacturing and Energy and Renewables. Mint was also recognised as one of the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers in 2022.

The Opportunity

Mint’s pioneering technology means that, for the first time, there is a quickly scalable and cost-effective alternative to smelting or landfilling e-waste. PCBs can be processed onshore, creating a whole new circular economy for e-waste, and returning low-carbon green metals to the electronics sector.

Sustainable and scalable technology

Our facilities operate at ambient temperatures and are scaled to process the e-waste typically generated by a population of about 5 million people. Mint facilities are big enough to make a meaningful impact yet small enough to be built quickly utilising existing city infrastructure. A single Mint facility recovers purified copper to create 35 million PCBs and enough gold to make 70,000km of bonding wire. The continuing evolution of our technology by our R&D team is expanding the individually selected metals to include low-concentration metals such as silver, aluminium, and tin.

Our ambitions Mint has its head office, R+D facility, and pilot facility in Auckland, New Zealand. Mint has successfully taken the PCB technology to commercial scale in Sydney, Australia, with a facility that can process 3,000 tonnes per annum. Mint has invested in building the necessary capabilities and capacity to deploy an international network of facilities that can deliver Mint’s world-leading technologies at scale and play a transformational role in decarbonising metal recovery from e-waste and batteries, significantly reducing the reliance on mining and accelerating the circular supply of green metals.

Testimonial from Commercial Lead, Kate Bushby.

“Participating in the AWRE event was an exceptional experience for our brand as we entered the Australian market. The event not only provided a platform for showcasing our innovative solution but also fostered invaluable networking opportunities with best in Australian waste and recycling sector.

Mint was awarded the AWRE Best New Innovation, this recognition garnering the invaluable support and attention from key players in the Australian market.”