Using dynamic flow electrolysis and mechanochemistry to enhance the performance of gold production.

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Refining gold is an essential business in many countries, including Canada. Gold is a precious metal playing important societal roles. It is a form of currency, an investment, a component of jewelry and decoration, and increasingly, an essential component of electronics. In each of these applications, the most important factor governing its performance is purity. In partnership with the Royal Canadian Mint, the McGill Laboratories of Profs Friscic, Lumb and Mauzeroll are combining their expertise to improve the gold purity during electrolysis and reduce the environmental footprint of their gold production process. The proposed research will develop an environmentally sensitive technology that could displace current gold refining practices. In particular, RCM seeks to capitalize on recent advances in mechano- and electro-chemistry to produce high purity gold with higher efficiency and throughput than existing methods. The new process will also minimize the negative impacts of gold refining to worker health and safety, and the environment. If successful, this collaboration will provide a disruptive technology that will dramatically change the environmental footprint of gold refining worldwide. It would also create an important blueprint for additional innovation in the refining sector, which is a major contributor to environmental degradation.