Precious metal recycling & refining
Cleaning & recovery
Specialized onsite precious metal recovery and clean-up services to a diverse range of sectors.
On-site precious metal recovery
At Sibanye-Stillwater Recycling operations, we provide specialized onsite recovery services, supporting the global nitric acid industry, amongst others. Our teams deliver comprehensive plant cleaning, catalyst recovery, and downstream processing solutions designed to maximize platinum group metal (PGM) recovery while maintaining safe, efficient plant operations.
Operating from locations across the United States, Asia, and Europe, our experienced technical teams provide responsive support for project management, logistics, and refining throughout the nitric acid plant lifecycle.
Why onsite recovery matters
During the ammonia oxidation reaction, platinum group metals are gradually lost from nitric acid catalysts and migrate downstream through the heat train in the form of PGM oxides. Over time, these oxides cool and form dense particulate residues that accumulate on exposed surfaces, storage tanks, and components—reducing thermal efficiency and creating significant recoverable value.
Partnering with Sibanye-Stillwater Recycling operations ensures:
- Maximized recovery of valuable PGMs
- Improved operational efficiency and heat transfer
- Reduced precious metal losses during routine maintenance
- Support for sustainability and circular economy initiatives
Hydroblasting services
Hydroblasting provides plant operators with a chemical-free, non-invasive option for removing and recovering surface PGM oxides from both tube-side and shell-side surfaces. This method is highly effective in recovering PGMs while preserving equipment condition and minimizing operational risk.
Destructive processing
For out-of-service PGM-bearing components, destructive processing ensures complete recovery of both PGM and non-PGM values. This aggressive treatment is conducted at Sibanye-Stillwater Recycling operations’ purpose-built leaching facility in Greenville, North Carolina (US), where stringent safety, security, and environmental protocols are maintained.
Non-aggressive chemical cleaning
Our internationally recognized non-aggressive, mild chemical cleaning methodology is an industry-approved approach for removing surface PGM oxides. This treatment is specifically designed to maximize PGM recovery while maintaining safe working parameters and protecting plant equipment.
This expedient cleaning process allows for effective recovery without compromising operational integrity.
Storage tank cleaning and final point recovery
Nitric acid storage tanks are often excluded from scheduled maintenance due to operational demand; however, they frequently contain high concentrations of spent PGM catalyst. As the final point of recovery in the process stream, these tanks must be monitored carefully to prevent the loss of valuable PGMs with product.
Our storage tank cleaning services help operators capture this critical recovery opportunity.
Know your metals
The Know your metals resource helps you understand how precious metals are used across industries. Explore each metal’s commercial applications, the types of waste streams it commonly appears in, and the recovery technologies used to reclaim it.
Au
Gold
Ag
Silver
Pt
Platinum
Pd
Palladium
Rh
Rhodium
Ir
Iridium
Gold
Gold is a critical precious metal valued for its excellent conductivity, corrosion resistance, and stability, with extensive use in semiconductor fabrication, electroplating, connector fabrication and assembly, medical device and jewelry manufacturing.
Gold frequently occurs in industrial waste streams such as spent plating solutions, filters, resin, sludges, stamping scrap, contact pins and karat jewelry.
Silver
Silver is a widely used precious metal known for its high electrical conductivity, antimicrobial properties, and reflectivity, making it essential in microelectronics, medical applications, film coating, chemical processing, jewelry manufacturing, electroplating and stamping industries.
Silver-bearing waste streams often include spent plating baths, filters, sludges and stampings.
Explore silver-bearing waste streams:
Platinum
Platinum is a critical precious metal widely used in pharmaceutical catalysts, jewelry manufacturing, automotive catalytic converters, fuel cell/electrolyzer applications, fiberglass manufacturing, and the aircraft/aerospace, microelectronics and medical industries.
Due to its chemical stability and catalytic properties, platinum frequently appears in industrial waste streams such as spent catalyst, acidic process solutions, plating baths, filter media, implantable medical components, fiberglass bushings and refractory, fuel cell MEAs, thermocouple wire, machining kerf, shavings and turnings.
Explore platinum-bearing waste streams:
- Jewellery manufacture
- Discarded electronic devices and electronics manufacturing
- Electroplating operations
- Medical device manufacturing and healthcare operations
- Defense manufacturing and maintenance operations
- Glass manufacturing
- Pharmaceuticals manufacture
- Industrial catalysts
- Automotive catalytic converters
- Nitric acid manufacture
Palladium
Palladium is a precious metal widely used in automotive catalytic converters, specialty chemical catalyst, conductive pastes, microelectronics/ceramic capacitors.
Owing to its excellent catalytic performance and electrical conductivity, palladium is commonly found in industrial waste streams such as spent catalysts, sludges, filter media, fired/green ceramic, thick film wipes & jars, canned/decanned catalytic converters and spent environmental catalysts.
Explore palladium-bearing waste streams:
- Jewellery manufacture
- Discarded electronic devices and electronics manufacturing
- Electroplating operations
- Medical device manufacturing and healthcare operations
- Defense manufacturing and maintenance operations
- Pharmaceuticals manufacture
- Industrial catalysts
- Automotive catalytic converters
- Nitric acid manufacture
Rhodium
Rhodium is a rare and valuable precious metal primarily used in automotive catalytic converters, chemical catalysts, fiberglass manufacturing, and plating industries.
Its high reflectivity and resistance to corrosion result in rhodium being found in waste streams including catalytic converters, spent plating baths, filters, fiberglass bushings and refractory.
Explore rhodium-bearing waste streams:
Iridium
Iridium is an extremely durable and corrosion-resistant precious metal used in chemical processing equipment, fuel cell manufacturing, specialty catalyst, and medical devices.
Due to its use in high-temperature and highly corrosive environments, iridium is commonly found in waste streams including electrolyzer scrap, spent coating solutions, spent catalyst and filters, medical device components such as electrodes, marker bands and cath tips.
Explore iridium-bearing waste streams:
Integrated global support
Our onsite cleaning & recovery services integrate seamlessly with Sibanye-Stillwater’s broader precious metal recycling capabilities, including mechanical reduction, thermal reduction, wet chemistry, and refining. This end-to-end approach ensures optimized recovery, traceability, and consistent outcomes.
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Mechanical reduction
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Thermal reduction
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Wet chemistry
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Precious metal melt
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Auto catalyst recycling
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Electronic material classification
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Bead blasting
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Cleaning & recovery
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Granulation
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Transportation & logistics
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Analytical laboratory
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Partner with Sibanye-Stillwater Recycling operations
We support multiple industries with customized recovery programs aligned to operational and sustainability goals. Our experienced teams work closely with plant operators to improve recovery efficiency, ensure regulatory compliance, and convert catalyst losses into measurable value.
