TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Green-technology pioneer NovX21 on Wednesday announced that it would build Quebec’s first platinum-group metals (PGMs) recycling plant in a Thetford Mines industrial park, a critical step on the road to commercial-scale deployment of its patented technology to recover PGMs from end-of-life vehicles.

TSX-V-listed NovX21 has developed, patented and implemented an innovative, sustainable green technology to recycle catalytic converters, a key component of vehicle pollution control systems.

The Montreal-based company’s quick, clean, affordable and energy-efficient process allows it to recover PGMs for reuse, along with most of the other components used to manufacture catalytic converters.

“We looked at multiple options for the site of the new plant, both in Quebec and elsewhere, and Thetford Mines was the obvious choice, particularly given its strategic location and the availability of skilled labour in the region, but also because of its vibrancy and the entrepreneurial attitude of its representatives,” NovX21 president and CEO Sylvain Boulanger said.

Thetford Mines is located about 230 km east of Montreal.

NovX21 said its solution coincided with the convergence of a strong precious metals market and the global automobile market being urged to meet increasingly environment-friendly standards.

Recycling now played a critical role for many automotive industry players, from vehicle production through to vehicle end-of-life cycles. In this context, the global PGM recycling market is expected to grow by 8.2% to $9-billion by 2018.

NovX21’s technology also opens the door to research and development activities aimed at adapting its facilities to recover other metals, for use in a range of industries that generate large quantities of reusable components, such as electronics.

“NovX21 has a proprietary technology. We are one of the companies that will enable Quebec to play a role in the commercial development of innovative, sustainable technologies and share in the associated economic benefits. In the current PGM market, NovX21 aims to become a stable source of supply,” Boulanger said.