Tag Archives: SMD

Metso to deliver two Vertimill 4500 grinding mills to Canadian iron ore producer

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

A Canadian iron ore producer has awarded Metso an order for two powerful Vertimill® 4500 grinding mills to be delivered in the September quarter of 2024. The value of the order, which exceeds €10 million ($10.6 million), has been booked in Minerals segment’s 2023 September-quarter orders received.

Graham Davey, Director, Stirred Mills at Metso, said: “We are very pleased to collaborate on projects that support decarbonisation of the steel industry through production of high-grade and high-purity iron ore with sustainable processes. The Vertimill stirred grinding mill technology is globally recognised as a leading solution for energy-efficient grinding. Compared to traditional technology, operators can typically save up to 30-35% of the electrical energy and grinding media consumption. A small footprint and easy installation are also big advantages.”

Vertimill technology is an example of Metso’s Planet Positive offering. It is capable of handling feed sizes of up to 6 mm and grinding to product sizes of 30 microns or less. Vertimills are available in standard mill sizes ranging from 11 kW to 3,352 kW.

Since the introduction of the technology in the 1990s, Metso says it has sold over 540 Vertimill units to nearly all types of minerals.

Metso says it is the only manufacturer worldwide that can offer several stirred mill technologies (Vertimill, HIGmill™ and SMD), enabling it to support customers with the most suitable and efficient mill for their application.

Metso Outotec to maintain 10 HIGmills for Asia Pacific miner as part of LCS agreement

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mining consumables, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec says it has signed a three-year Life Cycle Services (LCS) contract for the service of 10 Metso Outotec-supplied HIGmill™ fine grinding units to a mining customer in Asia Pacific.

The purpose of this agreement is to maximise production and increase uptime by improving the performance of the wear parts using Metso Outotec’s proprietary technology, services and technical expertise. Metso Outotec will provide spares and wears for the HIGmills. Other elements of the agreement are process optimisation, repair services, as well as a service exchange program for spare and wear parts management.

The contract is a performance-based service agreement, and it is one of the largest Life Cycle Services orders received by Metso Outotec.

The Metso Outotec HIGmill is an advanced and energy-efficient fine and ultra-fine grinding solution that relies on proven technology, according to the OEM.

Sami Takaluoma, President, Services business area, Metso Outotec, said: “We are extremely glad that our customer shows this confidence and appreciation in our expertise and end-to-end knowledge in sustainable fine grinding solutions and services. Metso Outotec is continuously developing its service capabilities for the customer’s benefit. The latest investment in the Asia Pacific area is our Karratha, Western Australia, facility which will be our biggest service centre globally. The centre will be operational during the fourth (December) quarter of 2023, and it further strengthens Metso Outotec’s presence in the region.”

Metso Outotec says it offers a wide portfolio of stirred mill technologies and supporting services for fine and ultrafine grinding in secondary, tertiary and regrind applications. The stirred mill portfolio includes the Vertimill®, the Metso Outotec HIGmill grinding mill, and the SMD Stirred Media Detritor.

Novamera carries out first field trial of SMD narrow-vein mining process

Explosives and blasting, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining techniques, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , ,

Novamera says it has completed a very successful field trial of Sustainable Mining by Drilling (SMD) at the Anaconda Mining-owned Romeo and Juliet narrow vein gold deposit in Newfoundland, Canada.

The company, back in July, closed a C$5 million ($4 million) Series A financing round, providing the necessary funds to carry out the first full field trial of SMD.

This proof of concept was designed to test the entire SMD system and process, which combines industry-proven, directional drilling equipment and high-resolution, downhole imaging with transformational innovations, smart systems and data analytics. The result, Novamera says, is a two-pass process that identifies vein shape and is highly flexible to changes in vein geometry; with a selective, surgically-accurate mining process that’s clean, efficient and offers the potential for low capital expenditure with high return.

Metso Outotec to deliver stirred mill technology to greenfield iron ore plant in China

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec says it will deliver several energy-efficient stirred mills to a greenfield iron ore processing plant in Liaoning Province, north-eastern China, marking one of its “Planet Positive” mineral processing orders.

The stirred mill installation, which corresponds to 11 MW of power, will be the largest of its kind in China, according to the OEM.

While the value of the delivery has not been disclosed, the order has been booked in the company’s Minerals segment September quartr orders received.

Christoph Hoetzel, Head of Grinding business line at Metso Outotec, said the company previously agreed on the delivery of a PG4265™ primary gyratory crusher and three HP900™ cone crushers for the same project, however the customer soon realised the benefits that could come with using its stirred mill technology.

“Our stirred milling technology, with its excellent performance and ability to increase both iron ore concentrate and recovery, has proven itself multiple times in the Chinese market,” he said. “The new installation will also benefit from class-leading energy efficiency and wear life.”

Metso Outotec claims to be the only manufacturer worldwide offering several stirred mill technologies (Vertimill®, HIG™ mill, and SMD).

The Metso Outotec Planet Positive portfolio focuses on the most environmentally efficient technologies – of which there are more than 100 – in the company’s current portfolio, responding to the sustainability requirements of its customers in the aggregates, mining and metals refining industries. The customer requirements relate to energy or water efficiency, reduction of emissions, circularity and safety, the company says.

Novamera finds funds for first full field trial of Sustainable Mining by Drilling tech

Mining equipment, Mining finance, Mining services, Mining techniques, Precious metals, , , , , ,

Novamera has closed its C$5 million ($4 million) Series A financing round, providing the necessary funds to carry out the first full field trial of its Sustainable Mining by Drilling (SMD) solution for narrow-vein mining.

BDC Capital’s Industrial Innovation Venture Fund was the lead investor and Chrysalix Venture Capital also participated with a follow-on investment through the Chrysalix RoboValley Fund.

The field trial, which is taking place at Anaconda Mining’s project site in Newfoundland, Canada, has commenced and will be ongoing until the end of November. The company says it is carrying out a proof of concept, testing the entire SMD system and process.

Dustin Angelo, President and CEO of Novamera, said: “The financing, along with the non-repayable funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, will help us develop the first generation SMD system and position the company to be the global leader in precision mining. The mining industry faces many challenges that require more sustainable and environmentally-friendly solutions and SMD will be an economically viable option to extract narrow vein deposits with minimal waste and disturbance.”

Novamera says it is developing “keyhole surgery” for mining, an innovative clean technology and process that will be able to mine the numerous small-scale narrow vein mineral deposits found worldwide more safely, economically and sustainably using pilot hole diamond drilling and downhole directional sensors with machine-learning algorithms to to identify vein/host rock interfaces. Then it will use industry proven drilling technology – a variant of conventional Pile Top RCD drills used successfully by the construction industry followed by a form of reverse circulation drilling – to extract the ore.

Metso Outotec Vertimill energy efficient tech heading to Australia gold mine

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Precious metals, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , ,

Metso Outotec has won an order to deliver two energy-efficient Vertimill® VTM-4500 stirred mills to a gold mine in Australia.

These vertical grinding mills will be the largest of their kind to be installed in Australia when the delivery occurs in 2021, the company says.

The typical value for this type of an order is in the range of €10-15 million ($11.7-17.5 million), depending on the scope of delivery. The order has been booked in Metso Outotec’s orders received in the September quarter of 2020.

Metso Outotec’s Vertimill provides the lowest total cost of ownership compared with other grinding mills in many applications thanks to its high energy efficiency, reduced media consumption, low installation cost as well as minimal liner wear and maintenance, the company says. It is capable of handling feed sizes up to 6 mm and grinding to products less than 20 microns. It is available in standard mill sizes ranging from 11 kW to 3,353 kW.

Metso Outotec says it is the only manufacturer worldwide than can offer multiple stirred mill technologies (Vertimill®, HIG™mill and SMD) to support their customers with the most suitable and efficient mill for their application.

Metso Outotec SMD mills to boost output at Boliden’s Harjavalta concentrator

Base metals, Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, , , , , , , , , , ,

Boliden Harjavalta has chosen Metso Outotec’s SMD grinding mills to improve the capacity of its slag concentrator, in Finland, the mining OEM says.

Boliden Harjavalta produces high-quality metals for European industrial customers, churning out 120,000 t of copper and 26,000 t of nickel in 2019.

The purpose of the slag concentrator is to recover copper from the slag produced in the copper smelter and to return it to the copper production cycle as high-quality slag concentrate, Metso Outotec said, with grinding being an essential part of the slag concentration process.

The raw materials of the Boliden Harjavalta smelter consist of concentrates and recycled metals, according to Boliden, with the company’s two mines in Finland – Kylylahti and Kevitsa – providing the smelter with concentrates. Concentrates are also purchased from external mines, Boliden says.

The order has been booked in Metso Minerals’ June quarter 2020 orders received.

Based on tests, Metso SMD (stirred media detritor, specialised for fine grinding applications) was chosen as the grinding technology, Metso Outotec said.

“Maintenance for the SMD is safe and cost-effective thanks to the simple mechanical structure of the mill and the smaller number of moving parts compared to traditional grinding mills,” the company explained.

Timo Sarvijärvi, Metso Outotec’s Head of Mining in the Nordics market area, said the company, at testing stage, noticed slag could be processed very efficiently using SMD technology.

“Now the slag concentrator can process larger amounts of material, without compromising the targets set for copper recovery,” Sarvijärvi said.

Metso looks to grind down GHG emissions with energy-efficient technology

Comminution of minerals, Environmental, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining industry recognition, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, , , , , , , , , ,

Having recently won the approval of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for its greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, Metso’s Climate Program now has the recognition it deserves.

The GHG goals are applicable to all relevant emission sources: production, procurement, inbound and outbound transportation as well as the use of Metso’s products.

Following on from this environmental win, IM put some questions to Metso’s Director of Sustainable Business Development, Kaisa Jungman, to find out what impact these climate change aims might have on the mining equipment manufacturers’ product offering and how the company is already leading from the front with its environmental sustainability initiatives.

It’s worth acknowledging, first, that these GHG goals are all-encompassing.

As a scope 1 and 2 GHG target, Metso has committed to a 25% reduction in carbon emissions in production by 2030, while 30% of its suppliers – in terms of spend – are required to set science-based emission targets by 2024. Metso also aims for a 20% reduction in transportation emissions by 2025 (scope 3 GHG emissions target) by streamlining transportation routes and optimising warehouse locations.

Through extensive research and development work, Metso says it has been able to significantly reduce the energy consumption in customer processes. To continue this development, the company is aiming for a 10% reduction in GHG emissions in the most “energy-intensive customer processes” using Metso products by 2025.

The company is also demanding energy-efficiency targets in its Metso R&D projects, and offsetting flight emissions by 100% by 2021.

The target to lower GHG emissions by 10% in the most “energy-intensive customer processes” stood out in these targets, and it was hardly surprising to find out grinding falls into this category.

“Grinding is the most energy-intensive stage of minerals processing,” Jungman said. “Overall, it is estimated that comminution counts for 3-5% of the energy consumption in the world and grinding is part of this.”

In the company’s climate program it has included three of its products – the HRC™ high pressure grinding roll, Vertimill® and stirred SMD (stirred media detritor) – to help achieve this 10% cut in GHGs.

“We have estimated, based on our installed base, in 2018, that approximately 1,073,648 t of CO2 emissions were saved through these energy efficient grinding technologies,” she said, explaining that these savings were calculated by comparing its three solutions with conventional technology.

At this stage, it is only the HRC, Vertimill and SMD included in this calculation – due to their substantial energy and emission reduction credentials and the company’s ability to quantify accurately the estimated savings – but Jungman said Metso plans to widen the scope of the technologies to be included.

“In addition to our climate program, we are also looking into other environmental benefits the customers are gaining through our solutions,” she said.

“To improve energy and emissions efficiency in the future, our target is that all our R&D projects will set energy-efficiency targets by 2021.”

She concluded on these technologies: “I would say that this climate program is an important first step and we will continue developing even more comprehensive sustainability targets for our technologies.”

When it comes to displaying evidence of where the company is reducing scope 1 (generated from fuels used in production) and 2 (generated from purchased energy) emissions, Jungman could point to several examples.

“We have installed solar panels in some of our locations already and are looking now for opportunities to install more in several locations in the coming years,” she said.

In some of the company’s facilities, a percentage of the electricity it purchases is already from renewable sources, and Metso is investigating the possibilities of expanding this, Jungman added.

“In addition to electricity consumption, we are also searching for renewable alternatives for the other forms of our energy consumption, including, for example, replacing natural gas consumption with renewable alternatives.”

The company has also, in recent years, invested in many energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, according to Jungman.

“As an example, in our foundry in China, we have invested in a new type of melting furnace to gain better energy efficiency.

“In another production location, we have installed technology to recover process heat from the exhaust air to be used as heating energy. We have also invested in the process automation and insulation of the furnaces to gain better energy efficiency.”

She concluded: “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is something we take seriously, and to which Metso is fully committed. We want all our stakeholders to be involved in the work to reach these important targets and to aim even higher.”