In December 2023, Solvay spun off its specialty businesses, giving birth to a new company called Syensqo. Its reagent technologies are enabling recovery of the metals and minerals that are critical to a net zero future. The company says it is also ready to build on an already rich heritage in Mining Solutions – which dates back to American Cyanamid and Cytec – and to strengthen its commitment to best-in-class quality, reliability and service.

Innovation is at the heart of Syensqo’s business, with an expansive and evolving portfolio including its new Transfoamer™ frothers, which are unique in that they automatically adapt to pH in coarse particle flotation circuits, leading to recovery improvements and better circuit planning with a single-frother solution. This is just the latest addition to its portfolio of globally recognised brands including CYANEX®, ACORGA®, AERO®, AEROPHINE® and MAX® HT.

In this new video interview, we talked at length to Matt Davis, Global Business Director, Mineral Processing and Metal Extraction Products at Syensqo, covering various topics in electrification, innovation, sustainability and digitalisation.

This includes how its reagents are selective to essentially all of the minerals that today are considered ‘critical’ including lithium, cobalt, nickel and copper. At the same time it also helps customers maximise grade/recovery while minimising reagent consumption, water and energy use. Syensqo reagents can also be used to recover metals from end-of-life EV batteries, through solvent extraction. Another significant focus for Syensqo is developing products with an improved HSE profile. A good example is the AERO® NR reagent series, which can replace up to 100% of hazardous NaSH consumption in copper-molybdenum mines.