LONDON, UK: The Weir Group PLC (Weir), a global mining technology leader, announces a new alliance with Swiss Tower Mills Minerals AG (STM) in which Weir will market STM’s innovative vertical stirred grinding mills for coarse grinding applications world-wide.

Integrating vertical stirred grinding mills into Weir’s minerals processing flow sheet will provide customers substantial improvements in throughput and energy efficiency, helping them to meet their productivity and sustainability goals.

STM’s vertical stirred grinding technology is well proven for energy efficient comminution in the mining market with more than 80 units currently operating in the hard rock mineral processing industry across the globe. It is used within the comminution segment of the minerals processing circuit as part of a series of crushing and grinding processes that create the fine particles from which minerals can be extracted through floatation.

Comminution is one of the most energy intensive parts of the mine, accounting for 25% of the final energy consumption of an average mine site. Weir is already a leader in comminution technologies, such as Enduron® HPGRs which are driving down energy consumption by around 40% for customers.

This new alliance with STM takes things to the next level, offering the mining and minerals industry a proven low energy alternative to traditional high energy consuming tumbling mills. Combining and integrating these energy efficient technologies into a single, optimised flow sheet will deliver significant reductions in energy use, driving down costs and carbon emissions.

Commenting on this technology alliance, Ricardo Garib, Weir Minerals Divisional President said. “Weir and STM share the same vision of enabling primary resource providers to produce resources in the most sustainable manner. This is a perfect match of best-in-class technology providers. Integrating STM mills with Weir’s comminution products, which includes Enduron® high pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) and Enduron® screens, will improve throughput and help bring substantial reductions in carbon emissions. This is a real win-win.”

Fritz Moser, STM Chairman, said “Both the HPGR and the STM vertical stirred mills provide significant energy savings compared to conventional grinding technologies. Our new supply agreement with Weir will enable us to fast track the roll out of an innovative flow sheet using STM mills in conjunction with Weir’s Enduron® HPGR.”

In order to prove the most beneficial flow sheet for specific projects, STM has already supplied two vertical test mills to the Weir Minerals HPGR test facility in Venlo (Netherlands). Weir and STM will be in the unique position to provide clients combined energy efficient grinding test work of HPGR followed by STM’s vertical stirred mill.

Weir and STM share a passion for implementing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices at every level of their organisations. Together, they are proudly implementing sustainable solutions that benefit the industry, the communities where they operate and future generations.