Metso copper smelter contract in Asia: design and process notes for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
Metso has secured a major contract to supply engineering and key process equipment for a new primary copper smelter in Asia, centred on its Outotec Flash Smelting and Outotec Flash Converting technologies. The scope includes core furnace systems, gas handling and waste-heat recovery equipment designed to integrate with sulphur capture and downstream refining. For project teams, the choice of flash smelting implies high-grade concentrate feed, tight control of off-gas handling, and significant requirements for refractory design, structural support and foundation loading around the smelting line.
Technical Brief
- Integration with sulphur capture requires tight duct routing, expansion joints and corrosion-resistant linings.
- Structural design must accommodate heavy furnace shells, off-gas ducts and elevated boiler loads on limited footprint.
- Foundation works will need high bearing-capacity pads under furnaces and vibration control under rotating equipment.
- Refractory selection and anchoring will be critical around burner zones and slag tapping points for campaign life.
Our Take
The related 9 January piece on Metso’s ~€180 million package for a 300,000 t/y copper smelter in Asia indicates this contract is part of a large greenfield complex, signalling that Metso is capturing high-value downstream copper processing work rather than just concentrator equipment.
Across our mining coverage, Metso appears frequently in project and contract-award items, and the recent record stirred-mill sales article suggests the company is leveraging its grinding and process know‑how to lock in bundled copper flowsheet deals that can run from comminution through to smelting.
With copper as a keyword in 148 pieces in our database, this Asian smelter award reinforces a pattern where new copper capacity is increasingly being built closer to Asian manufacturing hubs, which can shorten cathode supply chains for regional OEMs and fabricators.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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