Metso, Outotec: Two Industry Greats Join Forces

Metso Outotec, a new company with leadership in sustainable minerals and metals processing and recycling technologies reported on a press release that it has begun operations. Headquartered in Finland and listed in NASDAQ Helsinki, Metso Outotec employs over 15,000 professionals in more than 50 countries. Its illustrative combined sales for 2019 were about US$4.7 billion.

The company offers customers crushing and screening equipment for the production of aggregates​, as well as equipment and solutions for minerals processing, metals refining, chemical processing and metal and waste recycling. Mining dominates the company’s portfolio, with a 61 percent sales aggregate. Metso Outotec’s industry-leading service capabilities and global network are complemented by a comprehensive range of spare and wear parts, refurbishments and professional services, according to company representatives.  

Metso Outotec brings together a long history of technological leadership, customer focus and excellence in services, leveraging the strengths of both Metso and Outotec. The benefits for customers and other stakeholders are unmatched in the industry: full offering that ranges from ore body​ to metal, extensive global services network and significant investment in R&D. The combination offers potential for significant cross-selling and cost synergies and an even stronger platform for innovation, digital leadership and growth, reports the company.

In the mining industry, the Metso Outotec mix provides strength in the process that starts with ore and ends with metal. The company is not focused on extraction. Rather, it is an expert in mineral processing, excelling in recovery methods design. A case in point is Outotec’s intervention in Golden Mineral’s Velardeña mine in Mexico, which used BIOX technology to turn a nonworkable mine into a very profitable one. As Outotec’s Jan Van Niekerk explained in an interview with Mexico Business News, “in some gold ores, the gold is locked in a sulphide mineral matrix. Gold particles are so small that no matter how finely you grind the ore, you cannot access them with cyanide. Recovery rates become so low that projects cease to be viable, even if there is a lot of gold in the ground. For Velardeña, specifically, gold recovery without BIOX was on the order of 5 to 7 percent. With BIOX, this increases to over 90 percent.” The combination of Metso and Outotec will bring this type of highly-effective problem solving to miners around the world.

Metso Outotec seeks to become a key partner for positive change. Growing interest towards the environment and the impacts of climate change, urbanization, decreasing ore grades and electrification are forcing traditional industries like aggregates, minerals processing and metals refining to redefine their license to operate. Metso Outotec can drive these industries towards a responsible use of the world’s natural resources.

“It is our core expertise to help our customers transform the industry. We offer sustainable technologies and services that reduce the consumption of energy and water by increasing process efficiency, recycling and reprocessing of tailings and waste. ​Our extensive offering and expertise help our customers improve their business and lower their risks. We are their partner for positive change,” said Pekka Vauramo, Metso Outotec’s President and CEO. ​