REGIONAL — For Keith Steva, the idea began not with a business plan, but with a question of environmental responsibility.
“I don’t want our grandkids in 30 or 40 years to say what did our grandparents do and they did nothing,” Steva said.
A retired electrical engineer and seasoned corporate executive with global experience, Steva has spent years writing and speaking about conservation and stewardship. But in recent years, he began looking for something more tangible, something that could reduce environmental impact while also strengthening the Iron Range economy.
“I want to make a difference,” he said. “And I want to make a difference on the Iron Range that will provide more stable work, jobs that don’t go up and down with prices of metal.”
Out of that intersection of environmental responsibility and economic stability grew a proposal for a new Iron Range company called Reclaiming Critical Metals, or RCM.
The company is developing plans for a modern metals recovery facility that would reclaim critical and industrial metals from shredded electronic waste using advanced mechanical separation technology already operating in multiple facilities overseas.
For Steva, the appeal was immediate.
“When I started digging into this, I thought, holy cow. This is awesome,” he said. “I’m amazed that no one else has noticed this before.”

Why these metals matter
RCM’s proposed facility would recover metals including iron, copper, nickel, aluminum, gold and palladium, along with additional specialty metals essential for electronics, electric vehicles, aerospace and defense applications.
Gold and palladium are among the better-known precious metals embedded in circuit boards, but copper, nickel and aluminum also play critical roles in electrical conductivity, structural components and manufacturing. These metals power medical equipment, renewable energy systems, telecommunications infrastructure, data centers and advanced defense systems.
“The demand for this is insatiable,” Steva said. “We cannot get enough critical metals mined. The world right now is starved for more critical metal.”
Mining remains essential to meeting global demand for critical metals, Steva said. Recovering materials already circulating in the economy can complement that effort, reduce environmental impacts, and strengthen domestic supply chains.

Understanding the e-waste stream
Electronic waste includes virtually anything with a cord or battery, from computers and medical devices to kitchen appliances and telecommunications equipment.
“In Minnesota, we create about 46 pounds of e-waste per person per year,” Steva said. “That results in 266 million pounds of e-waste created every year.”
From its research, the team estimates that the recoverable metals embedded in Minnesota’s annual e-waste stream represent more than $3 billion in potential value.
Only about 20 percent of global e-waste is currently recycled, and approximately 90 percent of shredded U.S. e-waste is shipped overseas for high-temperature processing. That represents both lost economic value and offshore jobs.
RCM would not collect televisions or appliances directly from households. Instead, the company would work with certified Midwest recyclers to process a specific high-value portion of material already separated during their operations.
“E-waste is a very broad term,” Steva said. “What we’re going to buy from them is one stream that they already produce. Shredded printed circuit boards is what we’re going to process.”
At full capacity, a single RCM processing line operating three shifts would handle roughly 20 million pounds annually, less than 10 percent of Minnesota’s estimated yearly e-waste generation.

A different approach to recovery
Today, most shredded circuit board material generated in the United States is shipped overseas for smelting, an energy-intensive process that uses extreme heat to melt down mixed materials and extract metals. The facilities operate at very high temperatures, consume significant fuel and electricity, and can produce substantial emissions. Add in the cost and environmental impact of transporting material halfway around the world, and the footprint grows even larger.
“Smelting is a dirty, nasty environmental disaster,” Steva said.
RCM’s model is built around a different premise.
Instead of heat and combustion, the system relies on mechanical separation at room temperature. Crushing and grinding are followed by magnets, eddy currents, optical sensors and air classifiers to sort metals into high-purity streams.
“It’s done without heat. It’s done without chemicals,” Steva said. “It’s all done mechanically.”
The facility would operate within a closed-air system designed to capture and filter fine particles.
“The dust that’s in the air is the most valuable part of the process,” Steva said. “You’re highly motivated to make it an airtight, closed air system with lots of filters.”
According to Steva, virtually every output stream has market value.
“We don’t know of any actual waste coming out of this,” he said. “You don’t take anything to the dump.”
Similar systems are already operating in 17 installations overseas, primarily in Europe, where policy mandates and limited mining resources have accelerated investment in advanced recycling infrastructure.

Supplier economics and domestic
processing
Rather than waiting months for overseas payment, Midwest recyclers shipping shredded material to RCM could see significantly shorter turnaround times.
Today, circuit board material may travel by truck to regional hubs, then by rail to coastal ports, before being shipped overseas for processing, a lengthy chain that can stretch payment timelines to three to four months.
Under the proposed model, suppliers could ship regionally to Reclaiming Critical Metals, have material processed within days, and receive payment within weeks.
“We’ll be able to take it from them and process it within a week and give them a check by the end of the month,” he said.
Keeping processing domestic also reduces transportation impacts and eliminates costly overseas shipping expenses for Midwest recyclers.

A deliberate partnership
RCM was founded by four professionals with deep experience and strong regional ties.
Steva serves as CEO. Susan Okerstrom, the company’s chief technology officer, is a materials scientist and biomimicry expert who previously worked as a metallurgical technician at U.S. Steel’s Minntac facility and as a technical fellow at Medtronic. Marlise Riffel, chief community and sustainability officer, is an environmental sociologist and president of the Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability. Angelique Frederiksen, chief operating officer, is a Six Sigma Black Belt with enterprise-level program management experience at Medtronic and GE.
Together, the team brings expertise in engineering, environmental science, advanced manufacturing and large-scale operations.
“We are a diverse group,” Steva said. “We complement each other.”
The partners have been meeting regularly for three years to refine engineering plans, conduct research and develop a phased implementation strategy.
“Designing and building facilities that operate is right in my sweet spot,” Steva said. “This is stuff I know how to do.”

Jobs and timeline
The project is currently in its development phase. Plans call for approximately six months of final engineering and design work, followed by construction of the $9 million facility, a process expected to take about a year. Initial production would begin late in the second year, with full ramp-up occurring through year three as hiring and supply contracts scale.
At full capacity, the operation would create skilled technical and operations positions, engineering and maintenance roles, environmental and compliance jobs, supply chain and logistics work, and administrative positions.
“These are steady jobs, year-round, steady,” Steva said.
RCM is pursuing angel investment funding and engaging with local governments, workforce development partners and potential suppliers as it advances toward construction.

Building on the region’s metals legacy
For Steva, the project ultimately circles back to the question that started it.
“I don’t want our grandkids in 30 or 40 years to say what did our grandparents do and they did nothing,” he said.
The Iron Range has always supplied the materials the nation depends on. Recovering critical metals from discarded electronics would build on that long history in metals production while adapting to the demands of a changing industrial world.
If Reclaiming Critical Metals succeeds, it will mean the Range did what it has always done, found a way to produce what the future requires.