Metso and UCT win first place in Mining Innovation and Research Battlefield competition

The cross-disciplinary team of Metso and University of Cape Town (UCT) took first place in the Mining Innovation and Reasearch Battlefield competition held in Cape Town, South Africa, from February 3rd to 6th.  

Participants were challenged to present innovative and sustainable solutions for revolutionizing tailings management and achieving zero harm, while supporting a more responsible and circular mining economy. The Metso and UCT team's pioneering approach to sustainable tailings management propelled them to first place in the competition. The team was awarded a US$25,000 research grant for their success. 

“The winning approach of the Metso and UCT team focused on decoupling water and tailings and enabling distributed, mineral-specific water circuits. The concept is based on years of research at a medium-sized concentrator and focuses on the fundamental principles of electrochemistry of sulfide flotation and on understanding the interactions between sulfur minerals and process water. 

The results indicate that immediate decoupling of tailings and water allows for the preservation of recycled water quality. Separate water circuits enable additional revenues and improve profitability by tailoring the water matrix of each flotation circuit to the mineral-specific surface chemistry requirements. Decoupling tailings and water also allow for the implementation of any tailings treatment process without affecting the operation of the main process itself. Consequently, the innovation proposes a paradigm shift in how to move towards a more resilient mineral resource conversion,” explains PhD. Eija Saari, Senior Manager, ECO-system at Metso. 

Metso’s team comprised of Diana Kasymova, Academic Researcher; PhD. Eija Saari, Senior Manager; and D.Sc. Kari Heiskanen, Technology Director, Professor. The UCT team consisted of Lisa October, PhD. Senior Lecturer; Rešoketšwe Manenzhe, PhD. Post-Doctoral Researcher; and Kirsten Corin, PhD. Professor.   

Mining Innovation and Research Battlefield is a competitive event held as part of the annual mining conference Mining Indaba. The competition brings together innovative thinkers from the mining industry, academia, NGOs and young leaders to present solutions to sustainability challenges in the mining sector.  

About Metso’s tailings management solutions 

Metso is a global leader in providing sustainable solutions for the mining industry, including tailings management. Tailings are the byproducts left over after extracting valuable minerals from ore, and managing them is crucial for environmental and operational efficiency. 

Metso’s holistic solutions for tailings processing reduce water use, environmental impact, risks, and costs. We help mining companies to not only maximize water recovery but to also reduce the footprint of tailings storage facilities (TSF). In addition, Metso can support with the right solutions for tailings reprocessing to extract the remaining valuable minerals. Metso’s offering for tailings management starts with initial studies, test work and flowsheet development. We also have a comprehensive offering for tailings management including conventional, thickened, high density, paste and filtered tailings processing, as well as hybrid tailings processing solutions. 

Read more about Metso’s tailings management solutions from our website.