Betolar signs MoU with the Geological Survey of Finland
Betolar and the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on research into the analysis and processing of mine tailings and industrial side streams such as slags.
Many of the metals that European industry needs are already above ground, in tailings and slags from decades of mining and steelmaking. Finding ways to recover them, and to put the remaining fractions to use, takes both detailed analysis and testing at scale.
GTK runs GTK Mintec in Outokumpu, a mineral processing laboratory and industrial-scale pilot plant. Betolar plans to place its proof-of-concept furnace next to GTK Mintec.
The furnace adds pyrometallurgical testing that complements GTK’s processing capabilities. It also responds to growing demand from customers: mining and metals companies want to test how metals can be recovered from their own tailings and slags before they invest. Testing in Outokumpu gives Betolar a faster route from research to customer projects and commercial agreements, and GTK’s laboratory analyses will support this work.
“GTK brings broad expertise and industrial-scale facilities for processing minerals, and we bring a furnace that recovers metals by smelting the material at high temperature. Working side by side in Outokumpu, we can find new ways to recover metals and to repurpose other fractions of tailings and slags. That is what making more of what is already here means in practice,” says Vibeke Krohn, President and CEO of Betolar.
The memorandum builds on existing cooperation. Betolar and GTK are working together, or planning to, in several research and development projects.
“Tailings and slags are a significant and still largely untapped source of critical raw materials. Combining GTK’s research and pilot-scale processing capabilities with Betolar’s high-temperature technology enables us to provide new insights into the supply potential of these resources,” says Saku Vuori, Director General at GTK.
Betolar and GTK will work together on research and development projects on how metals and other materials can be recovered from tailings and slags and, where both parties agree, apply jointly for research funding. Betolar will be able to use GTK’s laboratory and pilot plant, and GTK will be able to use Betolar’s furnace for high-temperature testing.
The memorandum is valid for five years and is not legally binding. Both parties remain free to work with other partners, and specific projects will be agreed separately.
Further information
Saku Vuori, Director General
Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)
saku.vuori@gtk.fi
+358 295 030216
Vibeke Krohn, President and CEO
Betolar Plc
vibeke.krohn@betolar.com
tel. +47 93 63 44 91
