The new pilot plant for minerals processing and circular economy materials will significantly expand GTK’s research and service capabilities for the mining and minerals industry.
The process lines have been designed in close collaboration with GTK experts, with Metso responsible for delivering the plant. The value of the order has not been disclosed and has been recorded in Metso’s Minerals segment as part of its third-quarter 2026 orders received.
GTK Director General Saku Vuori said the renewal of GTK Mintec is a strategic priority and that its minerals processing research services will play an important role in advancing the circular economy. He added that the agreement marks a significant step towards strengthening the services available to industry.
Metso and GTK have collaborated for decades on the research, testing and development of minerals processing solutions. According to Piia Karhu, President of Minerals at Metso, the new GTK Mintec pilot plant in Outokumpu will build on this long-standing partnership by providing an advanced environment for developing and testing solutions aimed at improving resource and energy efficiency.
The new facility will provide a modern environment for pilot-scale testing and optimisation of processing technologies. Alongside conventional beneficiation methods, it will support the development and testing of energy-efficient solutions designed to reduce water and chemical consumption.
Technologies to be tested will include High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR), ore sorting, primary grinding circuits, fine grinding, and both coarse and fine flotation applications. The plant will also incorporate a wide range of crushing, classification, grinding, flotation and physical separation technologies for material upgrading and recovery.
The facility will further support the piloting of side-stream processing, dry tailings stacking and closed-loop process water circuits using advanced water treatment and filtration technologies.
Two process lines with different capacities will be constructed, allowing both large-scale plant testing and smaller-scale studies, including test work using drill core samples during the early stages of mining projects.
The pilot plant will also feature advanced digitalisation and automation, with process data automatically collected from equipment and measurement points throughout the facility. This will accelerate test-result analysis, improve data quality and provide customers with more comprehensive reporting.
GTK Mintec’s new pilot plant is expected to begin operations by the end of 2028, further strengthening its position as an internationally recognised centre for the development of circular economy and minerals processing solutions.