GTK has ordered 20 pilot flotation machines and additional equipment from the company for its test plant and laboratory in Outokumpu.

The equipment will support improved monitoring of GTK's beneficiation studies and process design, through stronger automation and the use of new methods for measuring, controlling and regulating the process, said the organisation.

"We can now offer mining customers a comprehensive service package. The whole production process needed for a mineral deposit can be tested there on the scale required by the research problem," said GTK's head of Circular Economy Solutions, Jouko Nieminen.

"Through the flotation investment, our domestic and international customers can use state-of-the-art technology in research related to battery minerals and circular economy materials, for example," he added.

GTK's Smart Flotation Cells project is due to run until the end of 2021 with a total budget of €900,000 (US$1 million), according to the organisation's website.

"GTK and Metso Outotec promote sustainable and competitive mining technologies. We are pleased that GTK chose Metso Outotec's leading-edge flotation technology for their test facilities," says Stephan Kirsch, president of Metso Outotec's Minerals business area.