Metso Outotec says it has consolidated its minerals testing services in the USA into a single 5,500 m2 facility located in York, Pennsylvania. The Test Center capabilities will be continuously developed with the goal of covering the full minerals value chain to support the mining industry worldwide.
“The volume of testing activity has increased significantly during the last year. With more space and operations in one place, we can do a lot more linked and pilot-scale testing. The test center in York specializes in standard and proprietary grinding tests in both laboratory and pilot scale, focusing also on grinding R&D in close co-operation with our office in York. The addition of pyro testing capabilities allows us to run calcining, induration, and drying tests, too. Currently, we are also building new capabilities for bench and laboratory scale thickening and filtration tests,” explains Alan Boylston, Director, Process Engineering at Metso Outotec.
“Accurate equipment selection with the appropriate process guarantees requires us to focus in on the details of each customer test program. With the expanded equipment and automation capabilities, we can now do, for example, Planet Positive flowsheet tests with pilot-scale HRC™800e high pressure grinding roll (HPGR) and follow immediately with Vertimill® grinding and filtration testing. The test center is equipped to find the most suitable and energy efficient solution for any project by performing comparative tests between Metso Outotec’s comprehensive range of fine grinding mills including Vertimill®, HIGmillTM and Stirred Media Detritor (SMD) grinding mills,” says Test Center Manager Mike Price.
Metso Outotec says it offers a unique portfolio of testing expertise and circuit simulation to the mining industry. The recently introduced GeminexTM digital twin allows Metso Outotec to effectively simulate and test alternative operational scenarios and parameters based on accurate process models and real data. Combined with the extensive testing capabilities provided by the company’s global network of minerals test facilities, this allows mining customers to make sound investment decisions as well as use their resources in an optimal way.
The Metso Outotec global network of minerals test facilities covers the whole process from comminution through separation to filtration, refining and pyroprocessing. The main test centers are in the US, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Finland, and Australia. In addition, Metso Outotec carries out individual tests at several other locations.
