Sustainable mining is a critical ambition in countries like Chile, the world’s leading copper producer. In response to the growing demands of its mining customers, Metso is strengthening its position as a supplier of a substantial range of sustainable solutions with the introduction of its unique circularity recycling solution for Megaliner™, Poly-Met™, and rubber liners in Chile.
The solution enables the efficient separation of different liner materials so that the valuable rubber and steel components can either be reused in the manufacturing of new products or recycled.
“Our customers have ambitious sustainability targets and commitments to reach net zero in their operations. The liner recycling service is a concrete example of how Metso can drive the mining industry towards more sustainable practices. With less unprocessed waste material sent to landfills, recycling helps to reduce CO2 emissions and improve environmental efficiency,” says Eduardo Nilo, President, South America, Metso. The recycling solution will be installed at Metso’s rubber and Poly-Met factory in Concón, Chile.
At the same time, Metso is expanding its factory in Concón to further increase its rubber and Poly-Met production capability. Metso has installed a mega-class compression press that will expand the range, sizes, and types of products manufactured. With its robust technology and large size, the press is specifically designed to produce large Megaliner™ mill liners that can weigh up to 8 t. After the introduction of the new press, the production capacity for large mill liners will increase by 30%.
To further support CO2 emission reductions towards Metso’s net-zero goal by 2030, renewable electricity will cover 100% of the factory’s needs. The Chilean 2050 National Mining Policy outlines how the country could harmonise the development of the mining industry with the needs of the environment by achieving carbon neutrality and growing the circular economy model. Metso says it is committed to developing pioneering sustainable technologies and solutions for the mining industry globally. Circular economy is one of the important areas of sustainability development throughout the industry.
“As a responsible supplier and partner for sustainable wear solutions, we have set ambitious targets to help our customers reduce the environmental impact of mining in the different stages of the production process. We are extremely happy to again achieve an important milestone with the introduction of this unique mill liner recycling solution to the very important Chilean market. As part of our extensive horizontal mill liner offering, we are also exploring ways to increase the number of recycled materials in our liners to further close the circularity loop,” says Heikki Metsälä, President, Consumables business area, Metso.
A pioneering recycling service is a part of Metso’s Planet Positive offering. The first feasibility studies were conducted back in 2009, the recycling program was initiated in 2015, and the important milestone of 1,000 recycled Megaliner™ liners was achieved in 2016. After careful studies and customer pilots, Metso launched a new separation unit in 2022 for its customers in Europe. Following the introduction to the South American market, the mill lining recycling service will be expanded to the North American market later in 2024.
The recycling service is facilitated by an innovative technology enabling safe and efficient separation of different rubber and metal liner components, like cast inserts, wear plates, and backing plates. All composite liners, like Megaliner™, Poly-Met™ liners, as well as rubber mill liners, can be processed using this solution. Metso also has an existing recycling process for metallic mill liners.
