John D. Bruno Email & Phone Number

Greater Philadelphia Area

Manages the expansion and operations of buying scrap catalytic converters as the raw material source for its platinum group metal sales generated through its recovery and refining process.Key Metal Refining LLC is jointly owned by DOWA Metals and Mining (51%) and Key Engineering Solutions LLC (49%).

In January 2017, Key Engineering Solutions LLC transferred it’s customer base, assets, and liabilities to Key Metal Refining LLC, a partnership between DOWA Metals and Mining and Key Engineering Solutions.Key Engineering Solutions was established with the to provide engineering, process design and consulting services for businesses involved in platinum group metal recovery from automotive catalytic converters. In 2010 Key Engineering Solutions expanded its business to include purchasing scrap catalytic converters, processing them to separate the platinum bearing ceramic substrate from the metal housing, sending the catalyst to refiners to recover and purify the platinum group metals suitable to be traded on NYMEX and selling the platinum group metals to automotive manufacturers. The scrap catalytic converter business is very competitive and requires extensive knowledge of the total platinum group metal content of each converter and of the catalyst material sent for refining.

Burlington, New Jersey

Nippon PGM America was a newly formed joint venture between Dowa Metals and Mining Co, Tanaka Kinkinzoku International and Toyota Tsusho America for the purpose of establishing an accurate assessment of catalyst lots purchased from independent suppliers. Samples generated formed the basis for settlement which at the peak of the operation resulted in transactions totaling over $50 million per month.Trained and supervised staff to maintain mechanical and technical integrity. Implemented quality control measures to monitor and maintain accuracy including monthly calibration studies and system tests. Improved sample preparation for XRF analysis.

Provided project engineering and operational management through Key Engineering Solutions LLC.Designed and fabricated in house or with outside contractors equipment for the de-canning and handling of 20,000 catalytic converters per day. These improvements helped open other markets, increased production capabilities and helped facilitate the growth in annual sales from $25 million to over $1 billion.Designed, erected, operated and maintained four sampling systems for automotive catalyst. Successfully met design criteria that included low operating cost, effective removal of tramp material, flexibility of lot size, good mass balance, precise particle size and dust control.Provided engineering and mechanical support needed to maintain operation and facility including dust control, hydraulic systems, pneumatics, material handling, instrumentation and electrical distribution.

Boulder, Colorado

Supervised site remediation projects. Prepared documents required by the Colorado Health Department and documented all manifests and analytical reports.Developed and implemented processes for the extraction of toxic elements from wastes and the conversion of hazardous to non-hazardous wastes.Developed and implemented a process to extract selenium from wet scrubber circuit at a lead smelter.

Golden, Colorado

New venture founded to recover platinum group metals from automotive catalyst.Developed and implemented a proprietary process for the extraction platinum group metals (PGMs) from alumina pellets utilizing a closed loop, high temperature autoclave digestion resulting in a PGM residue and an alumina hydrate product.Designed and installed water cooled exhaust hoods and venture scrubbers for rotary furnaces.Replaced firebrick with custom monolithic refractory for rotary furnaces.Designed and built a 100 KVA , continuous submerged arc furnace for monolith catalyst. Optimized conditions that resulted in good recoveries and minimal operating costsDeveloped and implemented a lead electrorefining process for the recovery of PGMs from lead bullion.Specified procedures for the analysis of PGMs in automotive catalyst, slag, anode residue and collector metal.

Golden, Colorado

Amax was a major mining company with mining and refining operations all over the world in almost every base metal, precious metal and coal. The research and development lab in Golden employed up to 450 people and provided process development for new ventures and technical support for all the operations. Was responsible for the design and supervision of bench tests, the analysis of results and preparation of reports. Assisted in the design and supervision of pilot plant operations. Some of the major projects managed included:—High temperature/ high pressure wet oxidation of sulfide minerals and their subsequent treatment.—Fluid-bed roasting of gold bearing pyrite ores—Solvent extraction of molybdenum, tungsten, cobalt and nickel—Waste water treatment through ion exchange, precip

Master'S Degree, Metallurgy

Activities and Societies: Fellowship through the Solar Energy Research Institute, Master thesis "Electrodeposition of Black Cobalt.

Bachelor Of Science (Bs), Extractive Metallurgy, Mineral Processing