Tag Archives: vertical grinding mills

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

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.

Metso Outotec to deliver ‘multiple’ Vertimills to Ferrexpo’s Ukraine iron ore ops

Metso Outotec is to deliver multiple energy-efficient Vertimill® VTM-3000 stirred mills to Ferrexpo in Ukraine, with the vertical grinding mills set to become the largest of their kind to be installed in the country.

Once the mills have been installed, Ferrexpo’s iron ore beneficiation complex will be the largest VTM installation on the continent, Metso Outotec said, with several Vertimills already operating at the plant.

Typical values for this type of an order is in the range of €30-40 million ($35.7-47.6 million), depending on the scope of delivery, the company said. The order was booked in the company’s Minerals’ June quarter orders received.

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

Ferrexpo has plans to increase output from its iron ore operations in Ukraine from 32 Mt/y to more than 80 Mt/y.