Impact Stories
Mint Innovation
“I love it when a company like Mint Innovation comes along and offers a solution you’d never even thought was possible." John Berry
About this company
Mint Innovation are an Auckland-based clean technology business who have figured out how to extract metals from e-waste.
Their mission:
The world’s leading technology partner for sustainable metal recovery.
What makes this business ethical?
“It’s not just that they don’t dig into the earth to obtain metals. Their carbon footprint is lower than conventional mining, they reduce waste going to landfill and their plants can be built closer to where the metals are needed to reduce transportation - so their solution looks really positive on a number of metrics. And financially, if you can extract these metals profitably then it makes sense to build these plants.” John Berry.
Why Pathfinder invested
Pathfinder invested in them as an alternative to traditional mining companies and because we recognise that for our society to function, we need a reliable supply of critical metals. We want to support approaches to sourcing those metals that aren’t extractive and are instead more circular and regenerative.
The business is also in the right place at the right time in regards to geopolitics. From an investment perspective, this gives it a tailwind.
The global economy is deglobalising. Countries are putting up barriers, countries are nervous about supply chains, they don’t want to be dependent on some trading partners. That’s why Mint Innovation, with plans to build its plants in a range of countries, offers a smart solution.
It makes sense financially because they can extract the metals at a reasonable price. They have launched their plant in Australia and other countries should welcome the idea as a way of efficiently dealing with mountains of e-waste.