Jet engine recycler turns 40

‘Here’s to many more years of success, innovation and environmental stewardship,’ says precious metal recycling company Mastermelt on the occasion of its 40^th anniversary.

Founded in 1985 to support the jewellery trade in London’s Hatton Garden, Mastermelt now serves customers worldwide across a range of industries including pharmaceutical, chemical, advanced manufacturing, jewellery, green energy and electronics.

Niche: jet engine processing

Today the company has facilities and trade hubs in four countries: Germany, Singapore, UK, and USA.

Located at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains, Mastermelt America is the largest of the group’s sites and is one of the largest precious metal processors in the US. It has a large thermal pre-treatment facility, handling more than 200 tonnes of precious metal residues per month, alongside chemical, melting and super alloy recovery operations.

Among its specialities is complete jet engines and some 3 750 have been recycled for their super alloy and precious metal contents.

By-product to rejects

The largest of the UK sites, Mastermelt Refining Services has large thermal and chemical operations, processing up to 110 tonnes of residues per month. Mastermelt UK today continues to provide melt and assay services and the processing of manufacturing materials. Mastermelt also reclaims precious metals from across several applications in industry. These include by products, residues, production scrap/rejects and end-of-life products.

Far East branch

In Singapore, Eco-Mastermelt provides precious metal recovery services to Asia through a joint venture between Eco Special Waste Management and the Mastermelt Group. The plant has a large thermal pretreatment, chemical and melting process.

The Mastermelt facility in Aschaffenburg, Germany, provides customers across the EU with precious metal reclamation services using the latest technology that includes thermal treatment, blending and sampling, ‘all with appropriate environmental control’.