Mining technology provider Metso has signed an agreement with Finland’s Geological Survey (GTK) to supply the engineering and process technology for a new pilot plant for minerals processing and circular economy materials. The new processing plant will be located at GTK Mintec’s research centre in Outokumpu, in Finland’s north Karelia region.
"Metso and GTK have collaborated for decades in the research, testing and development of minerals processing solutions. The new GTK Mintec pilot plant in Outokumpu builds on this long-standing partnership and provides an excellent environment for developing and testing minerals processing and circular economy solutions that support the industry's goals of improving resource and energy efficiency," says Piia Karhu, President, Minerals at Metso.
The plant will feature two process lines with different capacities, as well as the installation of modern digitalisation technology throughout the facility. The new pilot plant will start operations by the end of 2028.
"GTK Mintec is one of our strategic spearheads," says GTK’s Director General Saku Vuori. “The minerals processing research services play an important role in advancing the circular economy. The renewal work is progressing well, and this agreement represents a significant step forward in strengthening the services offered to industry.”
Modern testing environment
The new plant will support pilot-scale testing as well as the optimisation of process technologies. Two process lines with different capacities will be constructed at the facility. The larger process line will have the same capacity as the current pilot plant, ranging from 0.2 to 1.5t per hour and, in special cases, up to 3tph. The smaller process line will have a capacity of 15 to 60kg per hour. This will enable continuous testing of beneficiation processes, for example during the early stages of mining projects using drill core samples.
This will enable both larger-scale plant testing and smaller-scale test work, such as studies conducted using drill core samples during the early stages of mining projects.
The plant is intended to support the development and testing of energy-efficient solutions that reduce water and chemical consumption. These technologies include: High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR), ore sorting, primary grinding circuits, fine grinding technologies, and both coarse and fine flotation applications.
The pilot plant will also include a broad range of crushing, classification, grinding, flotation and physical separation technologies for material upgrading and recovery.
In addition, the pilot plant will enable the piloting of solutions for side-stream processing, dry stacking of tailings, and closed-loop process water circuits utilising advanced water treatment and filtration technologies.
Digitalisation environment
The new pilot plant will provide an advanced digitalisation and automation environment. The equipment within the plant, as well as measurement points throughout the plant, will automatically collect process data. GTK Mintec anticipates that this will accelerate the analysis of test results, improve data quality, and provide customers with more comprehensive reporting capabilities.
Meet the partners
GTK Mintec is the mining research institute branch of Finland’s Geological Survey (GTK), and is the leading institute for research into mining technology developments in Europe. It develops innovations for mineral grinding and beneficiation processes and provides research services for different mining industries at its pilot plant and laboratories.
Metso is a Finland based mining services and technologies provider. Its services include end-to-end solutions and services for the aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries globally. In addition to a focus on minimising environmental footprints, Metso offers digitalization services that derive insights from analysing customer data, to support the automation and optimisation of their processes and performance.
Meet the partners
GTK Mintec is the mining research institute branch of Finland’s GTK and is the leading institute for research into mining technology developments in Europe. It develops innovations for mineral grinding and beneficiation processes and provides research services for different mining industries at its pilot plant and laboratories.
Metso is a Finland based mining services and technologies provider. Its services include end-to-end solutions and services for the aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining industries globally. In addition to a focus on minimising environmental footprints, Metso offers digitalization services that derive insights from analysing customer data, to support the automation and optimisation of their processes and performance.
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Executives
Piia Karhu
President, Minerals