Eco-Goldex
The Green Disruptor in Gold Recovery

For more than a century, cyanide has ruled gold mining. Cheap and effective, it became the industry’s default solvent.

Cyanide is also one of the most dangerous chemicals in industrial use—a lethal toxin tightly regulated across borders. Spills poison rivers, miners risk exposure, and in many regions of Africa and South America where artisanal miners dominate, restrictions on purchase, storage, and transport often push operators toward unsafe practices or even black-market alternatives.

Into this century-old dilemma steps Eco-Goldex, a Quebec-based innovator with a deceptively simple proposition; keep the mining processes the same, just change the chemical. The name reflects its mission, with ‘eco’ signifying environmental responsibility, ‘gold’ representing the industry it serves and ‘ex’ standing for extraction.

Developed through years of research, Eco-Goldex is a high-temperature blend of common chemicals. Unlike cyanide, which relies on a single ion (CN⁻) to dissolve gold, Eco-Goldex forms soluble gold complexes through a multi-component formulation. This enables extraction rates that rival, and sometimes surpass, those of cyanide. The formula achieves up to 97 percent recovery from ore and strips gold from e-waste in under 30 seconds. Environmental impact is minimized while cost efficiency is maintained.

The safety profile is striking.

“Our product’s toxicity is thousands of times lower than cyanide,” says John Guo, president and CEO.

Cyanide becomes lethal to aquatic life at just 28 mg/L. Eco-Goldex requires 793 mg/L to reach the same effect, a margin comparable to household chemicals. For miners, especially artisanal operators, this means drastically reduced hazards, easier handling and no need for specialized wastewater treatment.
“For miners to abandon toxic chemicals, a real alternative must be offered,” says Guo. “We provide that solution.”

Eco-Goldex powers modern gold recovery with two complementary product lines. The O-Series is designed for ore-based mining, while the E-Series targets urban mining and e-waste recycling. Both operate under simple alkaline conditions, making adoption easy worldwide. Already trusted in more than 85 countries, the company is gaining global momentum—supporting projects from artisanal gold belts in Africa to industrial mining operations and advanced recycling hubs across Europe and the U.S.

Optimized Gold Extraction for Ore Mining

The O-Series is formulated for gold ore leaching under alkaline conditions, operating within a pH range of nine to 12, with an optimal level at 11.5. It is fully compatible with conventional processes such as carbon-in-leach (CIL), carbon-in-pulp (CIP) and zinc cementation, effectively treating oxidized, semi-oxidized and non-refractory sulfide gold ores.

Primarily serving small-scale miners, the O-Series supports operations ranging from minor producers to mid-tier companies. Its compatibility with existing equipment and process flows allows miners to transition from traditional chemicals without the need for retraining or process modifications.

Classified as ordinary goods and certified by authorized national institutes, Eco-Goldex products require no special permits and can be transported safely by sea, air, or land. Miners can adopt them legally, without complex handling or bureaucratic delays.

"With Eco-Goldex, nothing changes. Just swap the chemical,” says Guo.

The O-Series integrates seamlessly with conventional cyanidation recovery systems, including activated carbon adsorption and Merrill-Crowe zinc cementation. This ensures smooth operation across CIL, CIP and heap leach workflows.

Reliable Urban Mining from E-Waste

E-Series addresses the growing demand to recover precious metals from e-waste, serving recyclers mainly in the United States and Europe. Optimized for e-scrap recycling, it maintains an alkaline environment throughout the process without the need for pH adjustments. Its selective stripping formula targets gold and silver, leaving base metals such as copper and nickel largely unaffected. The selectivity offers a significant advantage over traditional acids, which dissolve all metals indiscriminately and complicate downstream separation.

Extracted metals can be recovered efficiently using a variety of proven techniques. Eco-Goldex has developed proprietary technology for precious metal recovery from pregnant solutions. Its two-stage precipitation process, combining modified zinc cementation, chemical precipitation and electrowinning with activated carbon adsorption, routinely achieves purity levels exceeding 98 percent. Waste solutions from electrowinning can be recycled in subsequent stripping cycles, further improving operational efficiency and sustainability.
Built for scalability, the system processes pilot batches of one to 200 kilograms in just 20 to 30 minutes. Industrial turnkey setups handle approximately 1,000 kilograms per day. This level of throughput makes urban mining both commercially viable and environmentally responsible, reducing landfill waste and advancing the circular economy.

Beyond Chemicals: A Full-Service Model

Differentiating Eco-Goldex from traditional chemical suppliers is its vertically integrated, hands-on model. R&D is anchored in Quebec, ensuring global regulatory compliance and constant formulation refinements. Manufacturing takes place in China, leveraging low raw material costs, efficient logistics, and competitive energy pricing. This approach delivers high-quality, cost-competitive products to clients worldwide. But the real edge lies in Eco-Goldex’s consultative deployment. Each client’s ore or e-waste is analyzed through laboratory testing, yielding customized flow sheets that maximize yield. Engineers often work directly in the field, tailoring turnkey systems that require minimal workflow changes.

“From R&D to custom system design, we provide end-to-end solutions tailored to each client’s unique needs,” says Guo.

This customized approach reduces trial-and-error, accelerates adoption, and ensures successful recoveries—whether in a high-tech European e-scrap facility or a small mining site in rural Africa.

Transforming Artisanal Mining

Eco-Goldex’s most profound impact has been in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)—a sector that produces up to 20 percent of the world’s gold but is often accused of using environmentally destructive practices.
Through a triple-partnership model involving Eco-Goldex, local governments, and miners, ASM operations are formalized, professionalized, and made sustainable. In Burkina Faso, miners who once risked their lives handling toxic chemicals are working more safely and productively. In Mexico, Eco-Goldex enabled a silver producer to process ore that cyanide couldn’t treat. In Ghana, small-scale miners achieved their first safe recoveries using the low-toxicity technology. For years, UN-led initiatives to curb toxic ASM practices faltered, largely because no practical alternative to cyanide existed. Eco-Goldex filled that gap, providing a solution that governments and NGOs can actually enforce without cutting miners off from their livelihoods.

Organic Momentum and Global Reach

Eco-Goldex’s global momentum has been fueled less by advertising than by organic adoption. Miners and recyclers have shared success stories online, posted demonstration videos, and endorsed the products through peer referrals. For a risk-averse industry, this form of authentic, word-of-mouth validation has been invaluable.

Positioning for Scale and Investors

Eco-Goldex is preparing for its next chapter; an OTC listing in New York City. The capital raise will fund accelerated product development, broader promotion, and deeper penetration into large mining companies and industrial recyclers.

For investors, the opportunity is significant. The global gold mining industry exceeds $200 billion annually, and demand for ESG-compliant metals is reshaping supply chains. At the same time, the urban mining market is exploding, with the UN estimating over 50 million metric tons of e-waste generated each year, much of it containing recoverable precious metals. Eco- Goldex sits squarely at the intersection of these trends—offering both profitability and sustainability.

Eco-Goldex is not just a supplier of chemicals. It is positioning itself as the catalyst of a new era. By making green chemistry as simple as “just swap the chemical,” the company is enabling miners and recyclers to transition without friction, cost, or risk.

Gold once defined the economy. Eco-Goldex aims to define how it will be mined in the new one—responsibly, efficiently and sustainably.