High-precision, on-site analysis of precious metals in metallurgical waste spills

Precious metals are finite resources in high demand. They are mainly obtained through mining, but researchers are exploring the possibility of recycling them from metallurgical waste leachates, water that has passed through the treated materials during mineral processing and thus contains some of their compounds. To this end, compact and portable instruments for rapid, on-site analysis of wastewater are highly desirable to improve the efficiency of the recovery of precious metals.