What works is whatever gets the most value out for the least amount of money. What works is what you have the cap(ability) to do.
I do not know your education, experience, or how dedicated you are so I cannot recommend much.
I can say that if you want the platinum group metals out of converters badly enough, you will get them out. You can make exceptional profits doing this. However, the devil is in the details.
As for what works...
Gas phase extraction works.
Liquid leaching works.
Electro-arc copper ''smelting'' works.
A variety of things work. Some better than others; some do better big, some work best small. It all depends. Many factors are involved, there's hardly a cure-all technique for processing converters. Even this action mining stuff may ''work'', but to what extent? My idea of working is 95%+ extraction in a reasonable amount of time with a reasonable amount of cost to do it. The degree to which a process works is relative to what you're trying to accomplish and what you're prepared to accept.
Lead, as a collector for the PMG leaves much to be desired for assays. I would not rely on a lead-based assay for any of the platinum metal group. It also presents significant cost and disposal issues when done in bulk. Probably the best method for analyzing them is a variation of x-ray fluorescence.
If I came across as a smart ass, well, that wasn't my goal. I'm just trying to put it into perspective--you really can't hop into metals recovery and expect great success. Or maybe you can, I don't know you but I can tell you that the rule is research first. I had this impression from your posts that you're looking for a magic bullet.
Anyway, search around on this forum--you'll find the answers to many of your questions and answers to many questions you've likely not even thought of yet. If anything still burns, ask it! I may not have an answer or an answer that I'd like to share publicly, but there are other, smarter gentlemen than I on this forum that may help you.
