Geomechanics.io

  • Free Tools
Sign UpLog In

    Geomechanics.io

    Geomechanics, Streamlined.

    © 2026 Geomechanics.io. All rights reserved.

    Geomechanics.io

    CMRR-ioGEODB-ioHYDROGEO-ioQCDB-ioFree Tools & CalculatorsBlogLatest Industry News

    Industries

    MiningConstructionTunnelling

    Company

    Terms of UsePrivacy PolicyLinkedIn
    Projects
    Product
    Sustainability

    Metso & Loesche dry VRM grinding: energy and water-use takeaways for mine engineers

    February 26, 2026|

    Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

    Metso & Loesche dry VRM grinding: energy and water-use takeaways for mine engineers

    First reported on International Mining – News

    30 Second Briefing

    Metso Corporation and Loesche GmbH have formed an exclusive partnership to deploy Metso Loesche VRM dry grinding technology across a wide range of mineral processing circuits. The agreement couples Loesche’s vertical roller mill design, proven in cement and industrial minerals, with Metso’s end-to-end flowsheet engineering and global service network to offer fully dry comminution and classification. For mine operators, the VRM-based dry route targets reduced water use, lower specific energy consumption versus conventional SAG/ball mill–HPGR setups, and a smaller plant footprint.

    Technical Brief

    • Partnership is exclusive, giving Metso sole rights to deploy Loesche VRM tech in mining circuits.
    • Loesche contributes cement-proven vertical roller mill design, adapted for hard-rock and industrial mineral ores.
    • Metso integrates VRM units into full comminution–classification flowsheets, including upstream crushing and downstream separation.
    • Arrangement embeds VRM supply within Metso’s global service network for spares, wear parts and field support.
    • Dry grinding route is targeted at orebodies and regions where process water is constrained or costly.
    • Integration focus includes dust handling, air classification and product transport to maintain fully dry operation.
    • Partnership structure suggests single-point EPC/EPCM responsibility for VRM-based grinding lines, simplifying project interfaces.
    • Similar cement-industry VRM deployments provide a reference base for scale-up, wear behaviour and maintenance planning in mining.

    Our Take

    Among the 1103 Mining stories in our coverage, there are relatively few JV-tagged items centred on process plant OEMs, so a Metso–Loesche tie-up signals that major equipment houses are starting to share IP rather than competing solely on proprietary grinding circuits.

    Within the 2077 tag-matched pieces for Projects/Product/Sustainability, most decarbonisation content focuses on mobile fleets or renewables; a dry grinding JV like this points to comminution energy and water use becoming a more material lever for mine-level ESG strategies.

    For operators, a Metso–Loesche JV around dry grinding suggests future brownfield upgrades may be structured around integrated vendor packages rather than piecemeal mill swaps, which can simplify performance guarantees but may reduce flexibility to mix-and-match components.

    Geotechnical Software for Modern Teams

    Centralise site data, logs, and lab results with GEODB-io, CMRR-io, and HYDROGEO-io.

    No credit card required.

    • Save and export unlimited calculations
    • Advanced data visualisation
    • Generate professional PDF reports
    • Cloud storage for all your projects

    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.

    Related Articles

    Mining
    about 13 hours ago

    SANY SY1250H at Ugljevik coal mine: fleet and lifecycle notes for planners

    SANY has commissioned its first SY1250H mining excavator in Europe at the Ugljevik open-pit coal mine in Bosnia and Herzegovina, operated by Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS). The ultra-large excavator is intended for high-volume overburden and coal loading, pairing with 100 t-class haul trucks to support large-scale stripping and shorter mining cycles. For mine planners and maintenance teams, the deployment signals growing OEM competition in Europe’s >100 t excavator class, with implications for fleet standardisation, parts supply, and lifecycle cost benchmarking against established brands.

    Mining
    about 13 hours ago

    Komatsu 930E water sprinklers at Los Bronces: dust control and fleet lessons for engineers

    Two Komatsu 930E-3 haul trucks at Anglo American’s Los Bronces copper mine in Chile, originally slated for decommissioning, have been converted into 70,000 gallon (265,000 litre) water sprinkler trucks in a joint project with Komatsu Chile and Mega. Claimed as the first such 930E-based water trucks in Chile and globally, the units repurpose the existing 290-tonne class chassis to deliver high-volume dust suppression on haul roads. The conversion extends asset life and avoids procuring dedicated water trucks, with implications for fleet renewal and mine water management strategies.

    Mining
    1 day ago

    SANY’s 50 SKT145E autonomous trucks in Inner Mongolia: haul road design notes

    SANY has shipped 50 SKT145E autonomous pure battery wide body mining trucks to a surface coal operation in Inner Mongolia, pairing them with an in‑house autonomous haulage system rather than a third‑party AHS provider. The SKT145E trucks, already proven in unmanned operation at multiple Chinese coal and aggregate sites, use swappable battery packs and high‑precision positioning for fully driverless haulage on fixed routes. For mine planners and geotechs, the deployment signals continued standardisation around wide body truck haul roads, consistent ramp geometry and controlled dump‑point design to support large‑scale autonomy.

    Related Industries & Products

    Mining

    Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.

    CMRR-io

    Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.

    HYDROGEO-io

    Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.

    GEODB-io

    Centralised geotechnical data management solution for storing, accessing, and analysing all your site investigation and material testing data.

    AllGeotechnicalMiningInfrastructureMaterialsHazardsEnvironmentalSoftwarePolicy