Tag Archives: Fritz Moser

Swiss Tower Mills and its vertical grinding mills to come into the Metso fold

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

Metso says it is investing in the development of energy-saving comminution technology and has signed an agreement to acquire the outstanding shares of its long-term partner Swiss Tower Mills Minerals AG (STM).

Previously, Metso had a 15% minority ownership in the company. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction value.

Metso decided to exercise its right of first refusal following the divestment decision of STM’s other shareholders. As a result of the transaction, Metso’s ownership will increase to 100%. Metso has reported its previous 15% shareholding as a non-current financial asset.

Swiss Tower Mills Minerals, based in Baden, Switzerland, specialises in vertical grinding mill solutions. It is best known for the HIGmill™ grinding mill, which has been exclusively sold and serviced by Metso. This technology is crucial in modern grinding circuits and integral to the development of energy-efficient comminution processes, for example, in combination with Metso HRC™e high-pressure grinding rolls, Metso says. Over the years of cooperation, the use of vertical grinding mill technology has seen significant growth, and the trend is expected to continue.

Markku Teräsvasara, President, Minerals business area and Deputy CEO at Metso, said: “We are excited to have the Swiss Tower Mills Minerals team as part of Metso. For many years, we have collaborated in serving customers in the mining industry. Going forward, our customers will continue to benefit from an unrivalled comminution solutions offering, which we will develop further.”

Fritz Moser, Chairman of the Board of Swiss Tower Mills Minerals, said: “Being fully convinced that Metso is highly committed to further develop Swiss Tower Mills Minerals as the benchmark of the art of grinding, together with my private shareholder colleagues, we have decided to divest our ownership in the company. Hence, we are pleased to know that the technology we have established together with Metso for the mining industry will remain an essential part of Metso’s flowsheet capability.”

The acquisition, which is subject to the approvals of anti-trust authorities, is expected to be closed in early 2025.

In 2022, the Weir Group announced an alliance with STM in which Weir would market STM’s vertical stirred grinding mills for coarse grinding applications worldwide.

Last year, Weir announced the completion of the STM Minerals AG vertical stirred mill commissioning at the Weir Technology Hub in the Netherlands, as part of its energy-efficient comminution and classification solutions for customers.

Weir and Swiss Tower Mills align on energy efficient comminution pathway

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

The Weir Group has announced a new alliance with Swiss Tower Mills Minerals (STM) in which Weir will market STM’s vertical stirred grinding mills for coarse grinding applications worldwide.

Integrating vertical stirred grinding mills into Weir’s minerals processing flowsheet will provide customers substantial improvements in throughput and energy efficiency, helping them to meet their productivity and sustainability goals, Weir says.

STM’s vertical stirred grinding technology is proven for energy efficient comminution in the mining market with more than 80 units currently operating in the hard-rock mineral processing industry across the globe, according to the company. It is used within the comminution segment of the minerals processing circuit as part of a series of crushing and grinding processes that create the fine particles from which minerals can be extracted through flotation.

Comminution, as has been well documented, is one of the most energy intensive parts of the mine, accounting for 25% of the final energy consumption of an average mine site.

Weir says it is already a leader in comminution technologies, offering solutions such as Enduron® high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) to drive down energy consumption by around 40% for customers.

This new alliance with STM takes things to the next level, offering the mining and minerals industry a proven low energy alternative to traditional high energy consuming tumbling mills, it said. Combining and integrating these energy-efficient technologies into a single, optimised flowsheet will deliver significant reductions in energy use, driving down costs and carbon emissions.

In order to prove the most beneficial flowsheet for specific projects, STM has already supplied two vertical test mills to the Weir Minerals HPGR test facility in Venlo (Netherlands). This will put Weir and STM in the unique position to provide clients combined energy efficient grinding test work of HPGR followed by STM’s vertical stirred mill, they said.

Ricardo Garib, Weir Minerals Divisional President, said: “Weir and STM share the same vision of enabling primary resource providers to produce resources in the most sustainable manner. This is a perfect match of best-in-class technology providers. Integrating STM mills with Weir’s comminution products, which includes Enduron HPGRs and Enduron screens, will improve throughput and help bring substantial reductions in carbon emissions.

“This is a real win-win.”

Fritz Moser, STM Chairman, said “Both the HPGR and the STM vertical stirred mills provide significant energy savings compared to conventional grinding technologies. Our new supply agreement with Weir will enable us to fast track the roll out of an innovative flowsheet using STM mills in conjunction with Weir’s Enduron HPGR.”