RACER: full-value recovery for copper processing.
RACER is Still Bright’s processing platform for recovering more value from sulfide concentrates. It uses a low-temperature, closed-loop process to recover more copper while also capturing valuable co-products such as gold and molybdenum. Across rougher concentrate feedstocks tested to date, RACER has recovered up to 99% of the copper entering the process. It is designed to do this at ambient pressure, with a regenerating reagent loop that supports commercial deployment.
RACER Modules at scale
Still Bright’s copper extraction and RACER (rapid and complete electrochemical reduction) modules:
Are customized to mine composition and throughput
Leverage existing mine infrastructure
Are compatible with a range of feedstocks from high-grade chalcopyrite to dirty and difficult copper ores
Enrich other valuable metal sulfides to maximize value at polymetallic mines and minimize sulfide waste
Recover critical co-products like gold and platinum group metals
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Traditional resources:
High-grade chalcopyrite, other copper sulfide minerals
Standard copper concentrates: ground, concentrated ore
“Dirty” concentrates: high-impurity or “penalty-element” feedstocks
Non-traditional resources:
Unmined resources previously deemed too dirty (e.g., enargite)
Copper-rich mine waste
Low-grade chalcopyrite, refractory copper resources, mixed copper ore
RACER in action
RACER uses vanadium as a reagent to reduce copper compounds before oxidative leaching and standard downstream refining. A regenerating loop restores the vanadium's reactivity for reuse, typically recovering copper in minutes rather than the months or years heap leaching requires. Across rougher concentrate feedstocks tested to date, Still Bright has recovered up to 99% of the copper entering RACER.
A better way to process copper.
For mining partners, the opportunity is straightforward. It means recovering more of what is already there. Higher recovery and additional co-product value can improve mine economics without depending on a new discovery. RACER is designed to replace conventional smelting outright, not simply reduce reliance on it, and to materially reduce water demand compared with conventional processing, with final performance dependent on the commercial system design and feedstock.
RACER is designed to cut the most water-intensive steps in conventional processing, such as flotation. Still Bright is validating the final range through continuous-system design and testing.
Current copper supply chain
Current Production
Smelting
80% of production
Efficient copper recovery, but high capital intensity + input sensitivity
ESG challenges restrict geography
Heap Leaching
20% of production
Slowed by sulfur passivation
Limited to low-grade copper oxides
No other co-products possible
Recovers 20-70% copper in months-years
untapped Production
“Dirty”, high-impurity resources
Often deemed too contaminated to economically or safely recover.
Result in expensive fees and/or poisonous emissions if processed.
Copper-rich mine waste
These can’t be smelted or heap leached
How Still Bright measures up
Roughly 80% lower capital requirements than building a new smelter, depending on project configuration and feedstock. No SO2 emissions or acid mine drainage reduce geography constraints.
Up to 99% of the copper entering RACER has been recovered across multiple rougher concentrate feedstocks tested to date, avoiding sulfur passivation and recovery of precious co-products.
RACER can better manage impurities like arsenic due to its closed-loop, low temperature, and ambient pressure operations.
Approximately 99% recovery of copper has been demonstrated for tailings.
Why copper?
Copper demand is expected to double by 2035.
Copper is considered a "critical material" because of its essential role in modern industries. Although copper is abundant, global supply shortages are on the horizon, driven by growing challenges and geopolitical risks associated with its extraction. The reliance on global transport for raw copper exports and refined copper imports has introduced avoidable risks and increased inefficiencies. With scarcity growing, the need for reliable, domestically driven solutions are more crucial than ever.
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Copper’s unique durability & conductivity make it essential to construction & energy
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Renewable energy uses 3-5x more copper than traditional energy sources
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Electric vehicles use ~3x the amount of copper as gas cars
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Datacenter use is exploding. 27 to 66 tonnes needed per MW, ~1.5M tonnes needed by 2030
A processing platform built for mine economics and national value.
Still Bright is developing RACER so copper-rich countries can process more of their own resources, capture more of the economic value locally and reduce dependence on overseas smelting capacity.
Test your feedstock with RACER.
Still Bright is working with mining partners to test commercially relevant feedstocks, quantify recovery and co-product value, and evaluate where RACER can improve project economics. Talk to us about your concentrates, stockpiles, or processing constraints.