A PIM of composition 30 wt% Cyphos (R) IL 104 and 70 wt% poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene) (PVDF-HFP) is described for the separation of Au(III) from its HCl solutions and from a solution obtained by the digestion of electronic scrap in aqua regia. This PIM has a high stability in acidic solutions such that no dilution of the digested aqua regia is necessary. Au(III) is back-extracted from the PIM using 0.50 mol L-1 Na2SO3. The stoichiometry of the extracted Au(III) ion-pair and the mechanism of back-extraction are discussed. Transport studies using the proposed PIM with an electronic scrap solution in aqua regia as the feed solution and 0.50 mol L-1 Na2SO3 solution as the receiving solution showed complete transport of Au(III) from the feed to the receiving solution even in the presence of a number of other metal ions at much higher concentrations than that of Au(III), including Cu(II) which was present at a concentration more than 1500-fold higher than that of Au(III). The proposed PIM-based technology is an attractive alternative to conventional solvent extraction methods since it eliminates the use of diluents which are often toxic, volatile and flammable. It successfully overcomes back-extraction issues associated with the use of other PIM-based systems and therefore it is expected to simplify and improve the efficiency of gold recovery from electronic scrap and jewellery. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.