S.E.M Technology, Salt Electro Mining

Recover precious metals, rare earths, and critical minerals

Open-source ion exchange membrane electrolysis for ore, e-waste, tailings, and industrial waste. The same cell leaches, regenerates its acid, and plates the metal.

Book a meetingSee how it works

Three patent applications on file. Released under CERN-OHL-S v2. Florida, United States.

The Rowow R mark

Up to 99%

Recovery at bench scale on the feeds run so far. Recovery on your material is measured in a demonstration run, not assumed.

53 of 60

US critical minerals in one leachate, detected by in-house XRF or predicted by the same chloride chemistry. A coverage figure, not a recovery figure.

$30 to $400

Modeled all-in cost per ton of feed, depending on feedstock and grade, and typically near $50 on the hard-rock ores we see most often.

Closed loop

Acid is regenerated at the membrane every cycle, so there is no repeated chemical makeup and no waste acid stream.

Open source

The membrane recipe and the cell drawings are published. Build one from hardware store parts, or buy the kit.

Membrane patent application US 19/531,984 · Featured on Hackaday and NightHawkInLight · Rigaku NEX DE XRF in house, third party ICP-MS assays

What it does

Four ways to run the same cell

One tank, the same electrodes and membranes, reconfigured by what is fed in and which membrane sits between the chambers. Mining and refining recover metal from solids, treatment cleans a liquid stream, and production makes the acid and base the other three consume.

S.E.M Technology Continuous Mining Unit, gold leach and regeneration loop A leach tank on the right feeds gold-bearing solution through a filter into the cathode side of the cell. Gold deposits at the cathode, settles into the hopper and leaves as powder. The depleted solution returns through a bypass to the anode side, where chloride is turned back into chlorine, and the regenerated solution flows back over the top to the leach tank. A cation exchange membrane separates the two sides. Rowow S.E.M Technology CEM CEM DC DC Anode (+) Anode (+) Cathode (−) Cathode (−) rowow.net Leach tank Tank Ore in Ore Filter Regenerated leach solution returns Leach returns Depleted bypass Bypass Gold powder out Gold Spent ore out Solids

Continuous mining

Ore or tailings go in as a slurry; the metals plate on the cathode and a filter removes the spent solids. Bench scale so far.

S.E.M Technology continuous refining loop Regenerated acid dissolves base metals out of bars, slag or mixed feed in swappable leach chambers. A filter keeps the gold, silver and platinum-group metals. The base-metal solution enters the cathode side, where the metal deposits, settles into the hopper and leaves as powder. Sulfate crosses an anion exchange membrane to the anode, where the acid re-forms and returns over the top to the leach chambers. Rowow S.E.M Technology AEM AEM DC DC Anode (+) Anode (+) Cathode (−) Cathode (−) rowow.net Leach Leach chambers Filter Regenerated leach acid returns Acid returns Depleted bypass Bypass Base-metal powder out Metal Au, Ag, PGMs Au, Ag, PGM

Continuous refining

Concentrate or scrap goes in; base metals plate out, and gold, silver and platinum group metals stay on the filter for downstream refining. Bench scale on e-waste.

S.E.M Technology continuous treatment cell Acidic waste enters the middle chamber. Anions cross an anion exchange membrane to the anode side and leave as acid. Metal ions cross a cation exchange membrane to the cathode, deposit as powder, settle into the hopper and leave through the bottom. The middle chamber leaves as treated water. Rowow S.E.M Technology AEM AEM CEM CEM DC DC Anode (+) Anode (+) Cathode (−) Cathode (−) rowow.net Waste in Waste Acid out Acid Treated water out Water Metal powder out Metal

Continuous treatment

Acidic or metal-bearing liquid waste goes in; metals leave as powder and the middle chamber discharges treated water. One bench run so far.

S.E.M Technology continuous production cell Four chambers split salt water into hydrochloric acid on the anode side and sodium hydroxide on the cathode side, with fresh water leaving the middle. From left: anode chamber with a sulfuric acid loop, cation membrane, acid chamber, anion membrane, brine chamber, cation membrane, base chamber and cathode. Rowow S.E.M Technology CEM CEM AEM AEM CEM CEM DC DC Anode (+) Anode (+) Cathode (−) Cathode (−) rowow.net Water in H₂O Brine in Brine Water in H₂O HCl out HCl Fresh water Water NaOH out NaOH H₂SO₄ loop

Continuous production

Brine goes in and is split into the hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide the other three modes use. As designed; not yet measured on a metered run.

How each mode works, with results and limits →

Who it is for

Where should we send you?

Miners and tailings owners

Recover gold, PGMs and rare earths from ore, concentrate and tailings in one closed-loop process.

See mining solutions →

E-waste and catalyst recyclers

Pull gold, platinum and palladium from scrap boards and spent catalytic converters.

See recycling solutions →

Researchers and makers

Build the open-source membrane and cell yourself from the published files, or start from the kit.

Get the files on GitHub →

Funders and partners

Help fund equipment and testing, or partner with us to deploy the technology at a site.

Fund the open work →

What we offer

Start with an assay, end with a running cell

Every step is priced and available today. Custom processing at your site starts with a meeting.

Step 1

XRF analysis

Send a 10 mL cup or a large object. Rigaku NEX DE, elemental report by email.

$50 single · $200 for six

Order analysis

Step 2

Membrane

Cast cation exchange sheet, or the framed slide-in assembly for the V1 cell. Ships wet.

$30 sheet · $100 slide-in

Buy a membrane

Step 3

V1 electrolysis cell

Research and demonstration instrument, machined in house. Unassembled kit or assembled and tested.

$900 kit · $1,900 assembled

See the cell

Step 4

Demonstration run or on-site unit

Ship us your feed for a filmed run at our lab, or have a research and demonstration unit installed at your site with your crew trained. Intro calls are paid.

$5,000 run · $22,900 unit

See both options

Tell us what you want to recover

Bring the feedstock, the grade if you know it, and the tonnage. We will tell you whether the cell fits before you pay for a run.

Book a meetingEmail info@rowow.net

Intro calls are paid, so both sides come prepared.

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