Advanced recovery solutions
At Sibanye-Stillwater Recycling operations, our wet chemistry department is a core pillar of our precious metal recycling and refining operations. Designed to safely and efficiently process complex industrial waste streams, this specialized department enables the recovery of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium and iridium from a wide range of electronic, medical, plating, catalyst, pharmaceutical and manufacturing materials.
Why precious metal recycling matters
Precious metals used in electronics and industrial plating are finite, high-value resources. Each year, significant quantities are lost due to inefficient recovery methods or improper disposal.
Partnering with Sibanye-Stillwater Recycling operations helps manufacturers reduce waste, conserve resources, lower emissions, support circular economy initiatives, and convert waste streams into revenue.
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:
Wet chemistry processing capabilities
Our wet chemistry operations are purpose-built to process acidic and cyanide-based solutions containing precious metals, with systems designed for safety, scalability, and maximum recovery.
Acid-based precious metal recovery
We utilize engineered acid formulations to dissolve precious metal-bearing materials, chemically separate individual metals, and precipitate and purify gold, silver, and platinum group metals (PGMs). Glass-lined reactors and PP tanks ranging from 50 to 750 gallons provide flexibility for diverse material volumes.
Cyanide solution processing
Precious metal-bearing cyanide solutions are processed using electrolytic recovery onto metal cathodes reducing the waste and chemicals, ensuring safe, compliant handling and optimized metal yield.
Compliance, traceability
& sustainability
Our operations meet or exceed EPA requirements, hazardous waste handling standards, and international e-waste regulations including the Basel Convention. We provide certificates of recovery or destruction, full chain-of-custody traceability, and ESG reporting support.
Integrated processing across departments
The wet chemistry department works in close coordination with our mechanical reduction and thermal reduction departments, enabling seamless material flow, optimized recovery pathways, and consistent evaluation and refining outcomes across the precious metal recycling process.
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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 various electronic, medical, pharma and plating manufacturers with customized recycling programs, expert guidance on improving recovery efficiency, secure wet chemistry refining services, and access to global sustainability expertise.
