Metso has signed a contract with MMX mining company in Brazil for the supply and assembly of its vertical grinding technology. Metso’s 14 vertical grinding mills will be assembled to the expansion of the Serra Azul iron ore project, located in São Joaquim de Bicas, Brumadinho and Igarapé, in the state of Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil.

The value of the order will not be disclosed.

"The Serra Azul project is a very important one as it consolidates the stirred milling technology in the iron ore regrinding applications," states Eduardo Kubric, Sales Director, Metso’s Mining and Construction, Brazil.

After completing the assembly of the new grinding mills, the iron ore production capacity of MMX at Serra Azul will reach 24 million tons per annum. MMX mining company’s power savings with Metso’s VERTIMILL® technology is expected to be about 18MW in comparison with conventional ball milling.