Recover More Metal From Mine Waste,
Without Re-Building the Mine
ZalvaTech uses AI/ML to build site-specific biosorbents for selective capture of precious and critical metals from tailings, low-grade ore, and mine-impacted water, turning long-term liability into recoverable value.
99% gold recovery in under 15 minutes, lab-validated in synthetic gold solution. Real-tailings validation underway.
Mine waste creates a double penalty: unrecovered value and long-term liability.
Operators pay to manage tailings and mine-impacted streams while valuable metals stay stranded, because conventional recovery is too costly, too site-generic, and too hard to deploy.
Economics
Reprocessing often doesn't pencil, because energy, chemicals and CAPEX are too high.
Operations
One-size-fits-all recovery methods struggle with site-specific chemistry and mineralogy.
Liability
Legacy tailings require long-term closure, monitoring, water treatment and reclamation.
~282B tonnes
accumulated global tailings
US$2.5T+
estimated contained metal value*
Operators are paying to manage waste while leaving recoverable value behind.
*Estimated contained metal value; actual recoverability varies by site chemistry, grade, and process economics.
The fastest new source of metals may already be above ground.
Falling Ore Grades
Gold down ~50% over 30 years; copper down ~25% over 10 years.
Demand Outrunning Supply
Projected 2024–2040 growth: lithium +353%, nickel +69%, cobalt +49%, copper +28%.
New Supply Arrives Too Late
Roughly 17.8 years to build a new mine.
Accountability and Policy Are Shifting
The August 2025 GISTM milestone brings 77 auditable requirements; Ontario's recovery permit, July 2025, and the G7 critical minerals declaration, June 2025, actively enable recovery from waste.
We tailor recovery to the site, not the other way around.
ZalvaTech starts with real site chemistry, then designs the biomaterial and recovery conditions before deployment.
1. Site Samples
Tailings, low-grade ore, or mine-impacted water.
2. AnkiBind Optimization
Matches biomaterial and operating conditions to site chemistry.
3. Non-Living Biomaterial
Biosorbents designed for selective metal capture.
4. Modular Recovery Unit
Bench-tested first, then scaled for deployment.
5. Recovered Metals
Gold first, with expansion to other target metals.
Built for Operators Facing Mine-Waste, Closure, and Recovery Challenges
Every mining stream carries metal that conventional recovery leaves behind. We assess what's recoverable in yours.
Legacy & Closure Sites
Decades of stranded metal in residues and drainage. We assess what can still be captured.
Tailings Ponds
Already-mined material, never fully extracted. We assess recoverable value and a phased path.
Low-Grade Ore
Material below conventional cut-off. We assess whether selective capture from leach solution changes the economics.
Active Mines
Metal still leaves in the process stream. We assess what's recoverable without touching the flowsheet.
Built by Someone Who Has Done This Before.
ZalvaTech is led by Dr. Leili Abkar, an environmental biotechnologist with 15+ years across water and wastewater treatment, microbiome engineering, membrane processes and resource recovery. She previously co-founded a desalination technology venture that was successfully acquired, and took ZalvaTech from concept to lab-validated proof in under a year.
The company's site-specific approach is grounded in 180+ structured interviews with mining operators, tailings and water specialists, and closure teams, the same body of work that defines the constraints AnkiBind optimizes against.
ZalvaTech is supported by an advisory group spanning AI/ML, mining operations, and commercialization.
For Mining Operators
Have a waste stream with recoverable metals? We'll assess whether your site is a fit for validation.
For Investors
We're raising to take AI-optimized recovery from lab proof to pilot-ready.