Modern Mining eyes US expansion as e-waste emerges as domestic metals resource

AI desk brief

Modern Mining is moving to commercialize e-waste processing in the US, positioning discarded electronics as an above-ground source of gold, silver, palladium and copper as Washington looks to keep more critical minerals onshore. The company is raising capital for its first commercial plant after lab, pilot and demonstration-stage work in Greenville, North Carolina, with an initial plan to build roughly one plant a year over the next five years.

CEO Jeet Basi framed recycling as a new domestic supply chain rather than waste management, arguing that retaining feedstock in the US is only part of the solution and that downstream processing capacity must also expand. The policy backdrop includes a July measure signed by President Trump giving officials authority under the Defense Production Act to restrict exports of some industrial waste to preserve critical mineral-bearing material.

For precious metals, the key takeaway is medium-term supply optionality rather than an immediate price catalyst: e-waste contains materially higher concentrations of some metals than natural ore, and the process could add incremental recycled supply if scaled. The International Energy Agency estimate cited in the piece suggests critical-mineral recycling could reduce the need for new mine development by 25–40% by 2050, implying a structural supply-side overhang for mined output, even as permitting and infrastructure constraints keep commercialization risk high near term.