The Metso Outotec merger was finalized on June 30th, 2020. How has the integration of the two businesses been?

The integration of the two businesses has been successful so far. Metso Outotec underwent a transformation, establishing a new culture, mission, and vision. We are pleased to say that based on Q1 results in 2021, we are exceeding stakeholder and marketplace expectations. We have combined the best of two companies, and now we can deliver more to our customers, making the revenue opportunities huge. Our business lines have been redefined, reengineered, and aligned to the new strategy. Therefore, more responsibility is coming towards the regions to be more proactive and have ownership on proposals and technical sales support to our front-end sales groups. We have key account and site managers for every important customer in the region, which makes us be more present day to day for our customers.

Can you tell us about some of Metso Outotec’s latest technological developments for crushing and grinding processes?

We have just formed a new group called IPCC, which stands for in-plant crushing and conveying solutions. Our IPCC group works with customers on the mine plan to design where the crusher needs to be located and how it needs to be built. Metso Outotec has also upgraded its MKIII crusher and has already sold around 15 units to Russia and Australia. We have also developed a FIT crushing station, which is more standardized, and modularized plants, which saves customers investment on engineering. In terms of grinding, Metso Outotec presented select and premium brand mills to the market in April 2021. The premium brand is a combination of the best technologies of Metso and Outotec. These mills are engineered to order from data obtained by the customer. Our select mills are standardized and fit for purpose, with certain sizes and certain power ranges, helping reduce capex.

Considering the high metals prices, what are the priorities of your clients at the moment?

Currently, the most important aspect for customers is to recover water and fines from tailings dams, which have copper and gold content. With the current high metal prices, recovery means extra revenue. Within our plant solutions business line, Metso Outotec is focused on the modularization of plants to recover water and content in tailings. We sell the entire solution – filters, structures, thickening, pumps, piping, and electrical components. We have implemented our solution for two important customers in Brazil but at this stage, are only offering it as small scale plants that will be replicated on a bigger scale in the near future. If you have an operation producing over 50,000 tonnes per day (mt/d), a recovery plant is worth it as the ROI is quite quick. For example, a customer that spent US$1.50 per tonne for water recovery at its tailings dam wanted a solution which would lower capex. We were able to build a solution with a recovery cost of US$1.30 per tonne, which gives an ROI within 30 months.

How would you compare the adoption of new technology in Latin America compared to some of the other jurisdictions that Metso Outotec works in?

Mining customers in South America are quite conservative and traditional and want proven technology before they adopt. Metso Outotec has a different perspective as we have been leaders in innovation. We are thus giving customers warrantees on our solutions so that they can test new technologies and reap the benefits. We have experienced that Chile is more open to pilot plants and testing than other jurisdictions in South America.