Claude
Green
Metal
Recovery
The world’s first cyclodextrin-based etch platform — extracting gold, silver, and lithium with zero cyanide, zero waste, and up to 50% lower cost.
Cyanide
Has a
Problem
For over a century, sodium cyanide has been the standard for gold leaching — at enormous cost to safety, environment, and communities.
- Extreme toxicity in transport, storage, and use
- High operating and capital costs
- Catastrophic spill risk (e.g., Baia Mare, Romania)
- Community opposition and regulatory restrictions
- Ineffective on refractory gold deposits
- Cannot access lithium from ore
Cycladex
Changes
Everything
Built on Nobel Prize-winning supramolecular chemistry with α-cyclodextrin — a starch derived from corn — the Etch platform redefines metal recovery.
- Zero cyanide, zero wastewater, zero toxic waste
- 30–50% lower OPEX and CAPEX
- 4-hour leach cycle vs. 36 hours for cyanide
- Works on refractory ores cyanide cannot access
- Suitable in countries where cyanide is banned
- Novel lithium extraction from ore and spent batteries
The Etch
Process
Four stages, precisely engineered. Chemistry that gets the right molecules to the right place at exactly the right moment.
Where the
Platform Applies
Gold &
Silver Recovery
The Etch platform processes ores that are economically unviable or physically inaccessible to cyanide — refractory deposits, tailings stockpiles, and operations in regions where cyanide is banned outright.
Lithium
Extraction
A wholly new discovery: the Etch chemistry, originally developed for gold, proved effective on lithium ore — and potentially on spent lithium-ion batteries, creating a circular economy pathway.
Tailings
Remediation
Mining tailings represent both an environmental liability and an untapped resource. The Etch platform extracts residual metals from tailings while converting the solid matrix into construction-grade materials.
Supramolecular
Chemistry
The Etch platform is rooted in the Nobel Prize-winning work of Sir Fraser Stoddart, developed at Northwestern University. The core mechanism uses α-cyclodextrin — a ring-shaped starch molecule extracted from corn — as a molecular “carrier.”
Cyclodextrins are known for their ability to form inclusion complexes, encapsulating guest molecules within their hydrophobic cavity. Cycladex’s proprietary innovation lies in engineering the reaction kinetics: getting these carrier molecules to the precise mineral interface at the exact moment metal dissolution occurs.
The result is a leaching chemistry that is selectively aggressive toward target metals — gold, silver, lithium — while leaving surrounding rock matrix chemically unaltered and without generating toxic byproducts.
Milestones
License the
Etch Platform
Whether you’re operating an existing mine, managing tailings, or building a new lithium project — the Etch platform can be licensed, deployed, or co-developed to fit your operation.