Lithium Universe Expands Lab Tech to Extract Gallium and Platinum From E-Waste
Key Takeaways
- University of Edinburgh laboratory testing achieved greater than 99% gallium precipitation and approximately 99–100% platinum recovery using Lithium Universe's exclusively licensed GCDE diamide ligand technology.
- Both gallium (~US$237/kg) and platinum (~US$1,780/oz) appear on the US 2025 Critical Minerals List, together representing approximately US$10 billion in annual global market value.
- The tuneable chemistry enables a sequential multi-metal recovery concept — gold extracted first, then the same solution adjusted to capture gallium and platinum — potentially recovering multiple high-value products from a single e-waste feed.
- The diamide ligand is recyclable and reusable, reducing reagent consumption, and X-ray crystallography confirmed the target metals were structurally incorporated into the diamide, verifying the capture mechanism.
- All results remain at the laboratory stage; further process development, scale-up testing and commercial evaluation are required before viability can be established, and no timelines or revenue projections have been disclosed.
Lithium Universe announces a laboratory breakthrough that expands its licensed tertiary diamide ligand technology beyond gold and copper into critical metals recovery. University of Edinburgh test work has successfully extracted and precipitated gallium and platinum from e-waste, achieving greater than 99% gallium precipitation and approximately 99–100% platinum recovery under laboratory conditions. This work positions the Gold and Copper Diamide Extraction (GCDE) technology as a potentially broader multi-metal recovery platform, though further laboratory development, scale-up and commercial evaluation will be required before commercial viability can be established.
Headline laboratory results:
- Gallium recovery: Greater than 99% precipitation under stronger acidic conditions
- Platinum recovery: Approximately 99–100% recovery, with complete Pt(IV) uptake under selected laboratory conditions
- Recyclable ligand: Reusable reagent reduces consumption and simplifies recovery
- Tuneable process: Changing acid concentration, ligand dosage and temperature alters which metal is captured
Two critical metals, two billion-dollar-plus markets
The laboratory expansion into gallium and platinum targets metals with established global demand and vulnerable supply chains. Both appear on the United States 2025 Critical Minerals List, and both can occur at commercially interesting concentrations in selected e-waste streams.
| Metal | Global Market | Current Value | E-Waste Content | Key Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gallium | ~US$1 billion annually | ~US$237/kg | Up to 35% in concentrated e-waste fractions; chips contain ~0.9–1.3 mg | Semiconductors, LEDs, power electronics, telecommunications, aerospace, defence |
| Platinum | ~US$9 billion annually | ~US$1,780/oz | ~14 g/t in mobile circuit boards; up to 40 g/t reported in some boards | Catalysts, refining, hydrogen fuel cells, electronics, medical devices |
Gallium compounds (gallium arsenide, gallium nitride) are essential to advanced semiconductors, integrated circuits, LEDs, power electronics and defence applications. Individual chips contain only small quantities, but published research demonstrates that concentrated e-waste fractions can reach up to 35% gallium content, making selective recovery economically interesting.
Platinum is a high-value critical metal with growing importance to the hydrogen economy, where it functions as a catalyst in fuel cells and electrolyser technologies. Global supply is highly concentrated — South Africa dominates world platinum mine capacity — creating potential supply-chain vulnerabilities. Published studies report approximately 14 g/t platinum in discarded mobile-phone circuit boards, with some boards containing up to 40 g/t, supporting the case for recovery from secondary materials.
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How the diamide ligand works: a tuneable metal-catcher
The tertiary diamide ligand operates as a selective metal-capture reagent in acidic (hydrochloric acid) solutions. When metals dissolve from e-waste into acid, they combine with chloride to form different metal-chloride complexes, each with a distinct shape, size and chemical character. The diamide does not simply grab every metal in the solution. It recognises and preferentially binds to particular metal-chloride structures.
A simple way to visualise this: imagine a box containing different-shaped keys. The diamide is not indiscriminately collecting anything made of metal — it is recognising the shape and chemistry of a particular “key.”
What makes this chemistry valuable to you as an investor is its tuneability. By adjusting hydrochloric acid concentration, ligand dosage and temperature, researchers can change which metal the ligand preferentially captures. At around 2 M HCl, the diamide strongly favours gold. When the acid concentration increases to around 6 M HCl with excess ligand, the range of metals capable of precipitating broadens to include gallium and platinum.
Platinum’s behaviour adds another layer of selectivity. The metal’s oxidation state matters. When platinum is present as Pt(IV), the diamide successfully captures it, with complete uptake achieved under selected laboratory conditions. Platinum present as Pt(II) behaves differently, providing another variable that can potentially be used to improve selectivity.
The ligand is recyclable and reusable, which reduces reagent consumption and simplifies the recovery process. This is not a single-pass chemical system requiring constant feedstock replenishment.
Laboratory recoveries and sequential recovery potential
University of Edinburgh laboratory test work has demonstrated outstanding recovery performance across three metals under selected laboratory conditions:
- Gold — Greater than 99% recovery (prior work; 97.04% purity metallic gold produced)
- Gallium — Greater than 99% precipitation under stronger acidic conditions
- Platinum — Approximately 99–100% recovery, with complete Pt(IV) uptake under selected laboratory conditions
The staged multi-metal recovery concept is where this becomes strategically interesting. Gold could potentially be recovered first under gold-selective conditions. The remaining solution could then be adjusted to different conditions to target gallium, platinum and potentially other valuable metals, rather than discarding the remaining value. This creates a pathway to recover multiple high-value products from a single e-waste feed.
X-ray crystallography confirmed that the target metals were incorporated into the diamide structures, verifying that the ligand successfully captured the intended metals.
CEO Iggy Tan on the broadening opportunity
Iggy Tan, CEO
“The original attraction of this technology was its ability to selectively pull gold out of a very complicated mixture of metals. What is becoming increasingly interesting is that the same ligand may be capable of doing much more. In simple terms, we can potentially change the chemistry and change what the ligand catches. Under one set of conditions, it strongly prefers gold. Under stronger acidic conditions, our research shows it can also precipitate gallium and platinum. With platinum, even the chemical form of the metal makes a difference, which gives us another variable that may be used to improve selectivity.”
Tan framed the strategic ambition clearly: turning the diamide into a broader critical-metals recovery platform rather than leaving it as a gold-only reagent.
Background: the GCDE technology licence
Lithium Universe holds an exclusive worldwide licence from the University of Edinburgh to commercialise its Gold and Copper Diamide Extraction (GCDE) technology, developed by researchers led by Professor Jason Love and Professor Carole Morrison.
The original research focused on gold recovery, demonstrating that the diamide could selectively precipitate gold from solutions containing numerous competing metals. Laboratory testing achieved greater than 99% gold recovery, while subsequent processing produced metallic gold with 97.04% purity. The broader GCDE process also incorporates copper recovery following the gold separation stage, creating a pathway to recover another major source of value from e-waste.
This gallium and platinum test work extends that platform, demonstrating that the same chemistry can be tuned to target additional critical metals.
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What comes next for LU7
The work remains at the laboratory stage. Further test work, process development, scale-up and commercial evaluation will be required to determine whether this chemistry can ultimately form part of a commercially viable e-waste recovery process.
For you as an investor, this represents low-cost optionality. The laboratory results expand the addressable value of e-waste feedstock beyond gold and copper, complementing LU7’s broader circular-economy positioning (silver PV recycling) alongside its flagship Bécancour lithium refinery strategy. No timelines or revenue projections have been disclosed.
Next steps for the GCDE technology:
- Further laboratory development and process optimisation
- Scale-up testing to determine process performance beyond laboratory conditions
- Commercial evaluation of a multi-metal recovery process to assess economic viability
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