Tag Archives: Metso

Metso to provide single-stage SAG mill to Chinese low carbon aluminium project

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, ,

Metso says it has received an order to provide a single-stage semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) solution for a low-carbon aluminium industry project in China.

The value of the order, which is not disclosed, is booked in the Minerals segment’s March quarter 2024 orders received.

Metso’s scope of delivery consists of six SAG mills with 45 MW of total installed power and a Mill Reline Machine (MRM).

The delivery includes engineering, manufacturing, and advisory services for installation and commissioning. The mills will also be supplied with Metso’s high-quality metallic mill lining solution.

Nick Green, Vice President, Horizontal Mills at Metso, said: “We are proud to have been entrusted with the sizing, design and supply of the Metso Single Stage SAG mills to a bauxite application in China, leveraging our leadership in the field.

“The application of single-stage SAG milling to bauxite grinding delivers improvements in capital expenditure, availability, and operational expenditure.”

Metso reflects on ‘benchmark’ contract win in Chile copper space

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Metso has been awarded a major order worth some €55 million ($59 million) to deliver key concentrator equipment for a copper mining project in Chile.

The Metso delivery scope consists of high-capacity Nordberg® MP1250 secondary cone crushers, MF Series™ vibrating screens and energy-efficient Vertimill® VTM1500 regrinding mills.

For the flotation and separation circuit, Metso will supply multiple TankCell® and ColumnCell™ flotation cells featuring several of the largest available 630 cu.m TankCell units, as well as HCT™ High Compression tailing thickeners. In addition, Metso’s scope includes four MHC hydrocyclone clusters, of which two will be among the largest in the world.

Most of the products in the delivery scope are part of Metso’s Planet Positive offering.

Fernando Samanez, Vice President, Minerals Sales for South America at Metso, said: “Working together with the customer and the engineering company on an open collaborative model has been an extraordinary experience. The model enhanced the efficiency of the engineering process and contributed to the alignment of all parties on the targets set by the end customer. This will be a benchmark to be followed in similar projects all over the world.”

Metso cuts the ribbon on Mexico screening media factory

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , ,

Metso has celebrated the inauguration of its screening media factory in Irapuato, Mexico, a new facility that, it says, will significantly increase its supply and delivery capabilities for mining and aggregates customers in North and Central America.

The screening media center employs 46 people and is located on a 9,000-plus sq.m lot. The new screening media factory uses advanced and sustainable manufacturing practices, and the installed solar panels will cover approximately 50% of the needed electricity, according to the company.

Alfredo Monreal, Vice President, Sales and Service, Mexico and Central America, Metso, said: “We are very pleased to officially inaugurate our new screening media factory in Irapuato. This milestone is yet another indication of our deep commitment to customer success. The Irapuato region is an important centre of excellence for high-quality products for our mining and aggregates customers.”

Metso’s screening installed base in the Americas has grown significantly: last year alone Metso delivered a total of 250 new screening machines to mining and aggregates customers.

Jouni Mähönen, Vice President, Screening business line, Metso, said: “Our target is to continuously develop our operations close to customers to further improve our service capability. The investment of a new factory in Mexico aligns with our strategy and improves our lead times, and it offers scalability in production volumes in a very important region.”

Today, Metso has approximately 730 employees working in production, sales and field service in Mexico.

In the same industrial area in Irapuato, Metso also has a new rubber and Poly-Met media factory. Construction of a new polymer filter plate factory will be finalised during 2024 and the factory will be operational in early 2025.

Metso’s screen offering consists of banana screens, horizontal screens, inclined screens, mobile screens, portable screens and ultrafine screens. It says it offers versatile screening media systems for a wide range of screening applications with solutions that range from rubber and polyurethane to classic wire.

Trollope Mining Services boosting southern African reputation with Metso hybrid crushers and screens

Comminution of minerals, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Amid growing demand for its crushing and screening services, Trollope Mining Services, one of the largest open-pit mining contractors in Africa, has continued to increase its fleet of Metso machines from Pilot Crushtec, the South Africa-based company says.

With nearly 500 pieces of equipment in its fleet, Trollope has over the years established itself as the go-to contractor in the open-pit mining sector in southern Africa, it says. Currently operating in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana, the company has also previously executed projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea. The company operates across commodities including but not limited to coal, platinum, copper, andalusite, gold, phosphate, lithium, iron ore, manganese, diamonds and limestone.

To establish itself as a total solutions provider in the mining contracting fraternity, Trollope Mining Services added a crushing and screening division to its business in 2016. Managing Director, Guy Hopkins, says that in the past three years the division has seen exponential growth on the back of some major projects, necessitating an expansion of the crushing and screening fleet.

Following the fleet expansion program, Trollope Mining Services now operates a total of 15 machines. Of note is that the whole fleet is made up of only Metso machines.

“We prefer Metso machines because of our experience with the equipment,” Hopkins says. “Fundamentally, the design and build quality of these machines are unmatched. Our buying decision is also influenced by the technological evolution of the Metso offering, which allows us to run ‘hands off’ operations. Apart from improved efficiencies, technology paves the way for improved safety on mining sites.”

Of its 15 Metso machines, six are dual-powered units, making Trollope Mining Services the biggest operator of Metso hybrid crushers and screens in southern Africa, confirms Charl Marais, Sales Manager at Pilot Crushtec. The dual-power fleet comprises two Lokotrack® LT120E™ jaw crushers, a Lokotrack LT330D™ cone crusher and three Lokotrack ST2.8E™ scalping screens. These were expressly purchased for a project in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.

With their ability to have both electricity and diesel as power sources, Marais says dual-power solutions provide the best of both worlds – significant fuel savings and a marked reduction in carbon emissions. “Significant cost reduction is achieved when the machines are connected to the grid,” he explains.

Hopkins added: “Given the high cost of diesel, dual-powered solutions help reduce operating costs for our customers. In our experience, the cost of running bi-power machines off the grid is 1/20 the cost of running them off a diesel engine. There is therefore a major cost benefit for our customers’ operations.”

Apart from the Metso build quality, Hopkins says the aftermarket support from Pilot Crushtec is crucial to ensuring high uptime.

“In all our buying decisions, having a partner that we can trust for the long term is fundamental,” he said. “Pilot Crushtec plays a crucial role in supporting us with all the necessary spares and technical expertise to keep our Metso machines running.”

Metso backs DRI Smelting Furnace tech with investment in pilot facility

Environmental, Mineral processing, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , ,

Metso says it is expanding its testing capabilities by investing €8 million ($8.7 million) to build a state-of-the-art DRI (direct reduced iron) smelting furnace pilot facility.

The pilot plant will be constructed in Pori, Finland, where Metso has one of its major R&D centres serving the minerals and metals industry. The new facility will allow customer-specific, pilot-scale testing to demonstrate the applicability and results of industrial-scale DRI smelting with Metso’s Outotec® DRI Smelting Furnace technology.

Jyrki Makkonen, Vice President, Smelting at Metso, said: “Currently, the iron and steel industry accounts for about 8% of the global carbon dioxide emissions. With the tightening environmental regulations, the industry is looking for new innovations to reduce its carbon footprint. There has been a lot of interest towards the recently launched Metso’s Outotec DRI Smelting Furnace. It substitutes traditional blast furnaces used in iron and steel making, and enables a significant reduction of emissions, when combined with a direct reduction plant.”

Mari Lindgren, Director, Smelting Research & Development at Metso, said: “The investment into the DRI Smelting Furnace pilot facility supports the rapidly increasing customer demand for reliable testing when planning a transition to emissions-free smelting. With the pilot facility, we can reliably test various types of customer materials for industrial scale-up. The construction of this unique facility has started, and we expect to run the first tests and campaigns in the latter part of 2024. Currently, we are serving our customers with smaller scale laboratory tests.”

The new high-capacity Outotec DRI Smelting Furnace, launched in 2022, is one of Metso’s breakthrough technologies and a major Planet Positive solution to support decarbonizing the iron and steel industry.

Combined with a direct reduction plant, Metso’s Outotec DRI Smelting Furnace substitutes traditional blast furnaces in the production of hot metal, making it an optimal solution for primary steel producers aiming for a significant reduction in their CO2 emissions with minimal changes to the rest of the steel plant, Metso says. The furnace can be integrated with Metso’s hydrogen-based Circored™ process or other direct reduction processes.

Metso continues to sign up mining companies for long-term service pacts

Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , ,

Metso says it is consolidating its strong position in delivering tailored solutions to mining and aggregate customers through the continued expansion of its Life Cycle Services (LCS) program. In 2023, Metso secured more than 110 new LCS contracts with global and regional mining companies as well as with sizeable quarries and aggregate contractors, it says.

During 2022, the company said its LCS business experienced substantial growth with more than 130 new agreements covering these applications.

Miika Tirkkonen, Senior Vice President, Integrated Service Solutions, Metso, said: “We secured more than 110 new LCS agreements worldwide. Our concentration is always focused on how we can help customers achieve their sustainability and productivity goals and exceed their performance. This growth celebrates our customer success, as we always work to best ensure customer satisfaction.”

The LCS agreements made last year are part of a portfolio of more than 500 long-term LCS agreements globally. The average duration of a contract is three years but can range from 12 months to multiple years of cooperation. The orders are booked on a phased basis, depending on the length of the agreement. More than two thirds of the orders were booked in the Minerals segment and the remaining orders were booked in the Aggregates segment.

Life Cycle Services encompass the complete range of Metso’s aftermarket portfolio, from spares and wears to advanced maintenance, remote monitoring and other expert services.

Ma’aden teams up with Metso, thyssenkrupp Uhde for sustainable phosphate production

Energy minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , , ,

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) has entered into an agreement with Metso and thyssenkrupp Uhde for the development and licensing of Ma’aden’s Integrated process concept, aiming for greenfield facilities at Ras Al Khair in Saudi Arabia, and the deployment of technology able to capture CO2 and recycle phosphogypsum.

The technology for CO2 capturing comes from the lime produced from the calcination of phosphogypsum using sulphur, leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions across Ma’aden’s phosphate business, making it more sustainable in the long term, it says.

The complex will enable the deployment of an innovative patented concept, which has been officially recognised by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent will allow Ma’aden to use new technology to reduce carbon emissions and reuse phosphogypsum as a useful resource.

Ma’aden’s patented approach is dual purpose, not only contributing to global warming mitigation through sustainable CO2 capturing but also providing a viable solution for recycling phosphogypsum, addressing two of the most pressing environmental challenges facing the phosphate industry – the decarbonisation of polluted CO2 and the effective use of phosphogypsum, a by-product of phosphate production often left in large quantities.

Hasan Ali, Executive Vice President, Ma’aden Phosphate, said: “This pioneering patent, combined with our new CO2 capturing complex, underscores Ma’aden’s commitment to sustainability. We look forward to working with Metso and thyssenkrupp Uhde to develop this important project that will truly change and reduce the carbon footprint of our phosphate business. It puts us at the forefront of innovation, turning what was once leftover material into a valuable resource, while significantly reducing CO2 emissions. It’s a giant leap towards a sustainable future.”

Hannes Storch, Vice President for Metals and Chemicals Processing at Metso, said: “We are excited to see this unique project moving forward. The new concept for the phosphogypsum processing will be a major step forward in the fertiliser industry, contributing to sustainability targets, such as waste recovery and limiting global warming. Metso contributes to the project with our extensive know-how and experience in the field of fluid bed, gas cleaning and sulphuric acid solutions.”

Lucretia Löscher, COO thyssenkrupp Uhde, said: “We are honoured to be chosen from our esteemed customer to provide our technology and expertise. We are providing the innovative process to turn the phosphate industry into a circular economy. This project will be another important milestone for thyssenkrupp Uhde in enabling the green transformation for our customers.”

Metso to deliver Nordberg cone crushers to WCS’ Simandou iron ore project

Comminution of minerals, Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , ,

Metso says it has received an order exceeding €10 million ($10.9 million) from Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) for the supply of key crushing equipment for its concentrator plant at Simandou Iron Ore Blocks 1 and 2 in the Republic of Guinea.

Metso’s scope of delivery consists of 16 Nordberg® HP900™ secondary and tertiary cone crushers, a crusher series that has over 10,000 installations worldwide in the aggregate and mining industries.

Xun Fang, Head of Metso’s Minerals Sales in Greater China, said: “We are pleased to be chosen as the supplier of the state-of-the-art crushing equipment for the Simandou iron project by WCS. We will leverage our global knowledge and resources to support the success of this project.”

Winning Consortium Simandou has been set up by the founders of SMB Winning Consortium, namely Winning International Group from Singapore, China Hongqiao and UMS Guinea. WCS won the public tender to develop Simandou Iron Ore Blocks 1 and 2 in November 2019 and signed a Base Convention agreement with the Guinean Government in June 2020.

Simandou Blocks 3 and 4 are held by Simfer S.A., which is owned by the Guinean State (15%) and Simfer Jersey Limited (85%). Simfer Jersey Limited is a joint venture between the Rio Tinto Group (53%) and Chalco Iron Ore Holdings Ltd (CIOH) (47%), a Chinalco-led joint venture of leading Chinese SOEs (Chinalco (75%), Baowu (20%), China Rail Construction Corporation (2.5%) and China Harbour Engineering Company (2.5%)).

Metso to deliver four modular FIT Crushing Stations to Americas mines

Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , ,

Metso continues to register demand for its modular mineral processing solutions, announcing that it intends to supply four FIT™ Crushing Stations in the Americas.

Three of these will be delivered to an iron ore mine in Brazil and one to a gold plant in Canada.

The combined value of the orders is approximately €20 million ($21.9 million).

The crushing and screening solution was launched in 2020. Since then, Metso has sold 24 FIT Stations around the world for applications including gold, iron ore, graphite, lithium, copper and slag.

The FIT Station is focused on flexibility and speed for quick installation with primary gyratory stations, jaw stations, cone crushers stations, screening stations and recrushing stations. Metso Product Manager, Daniel Nagano, says: “The capacities range from 200 to 4,000 t/h and all can be used in unique applications with multiple equipment configurations, and the combination of equipment modules can accommodate any kind of mining application.”

Modular FIT conveyors and ore sorting modules can also be added to the solution.

Erwin Huber, VP, Crushing and Conveying Systems at Metso, said the company is thrilled to see the customer interest in the modular FIT Station.

“The flexible solution enables us to deliver the plants with a short lead and installation time,” he said. “When comparing the FIT Station to similar crushing and screening plants in mining, we have seen a more than 30% reduction in implementation time.”

Metso addressing supply chain issues, equipment availability for major North America miner

Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Metso says it has signed a five-year Metso Owned Inventory Life Cycle Services (LCS) agreement with a major mining company in North America covering key equipment technologies across various sites.

Through collaborative planning between Metso and the customer, the agreement will enable consistency, transparency and ease of doing business, the OEM says.

The contract is one of the largest LCS orders received by Metso, being of significant value, it says. It is intended to help the customer to identify the right parts needed for the equipment and will significantly improve parts availability resulting in higher equipment availability and reliability. Furthermore, the contract will ensure dynamic replenishment of inventory and mitigate risks from sourcing visibility and potential supply chain volatility, Metso says.

Giuseppe Campanelli, President, the North and Central America market area, said: “We are very pleased that our key customer trusts Metso to ensure reliable and efficient production. Metso’s own and managed inventory service concept will ensure that the customer will always have the needed parts available for example during a shutdown.”

Metso has hundreds of LCS contracts around the world that have been tailored to combine Metso Owned Inventory with other expert services. Metso Owned Inventory is designed to meet some of the most common challenges customers have with their inventory, Metso explains.