An electrolyte system, using malic acid as a complexing agent, has been developed to allow the determination of transition metal cations using miniaturised isotachophoresis. The method allowed the simultaneous determination of Mn2+, Cr3+, Fe2+, Co2+, Zn2+ and Ni2+ to be made without interference from other common ions. Limits of detection were calculated to be in the range 0.5-1.0mg l(-1) for Mn2+, Cr3+ Co2+ and Zn2+ and 2.0 mg l(-1) for Fe2+ and 4.7 mg l(-1) for Ni2+. The successful analysis of five industrial samples, containing a range of these metal ions, obtained from metal processing plants were achieved in under 13 min. The separations were performed on a poly(methyl methacrylate) chip with integrated platinum wire conductivity detection electrodes.