Epse managed to get quite a deal where valuable metals are separated from mining waste. If Epse succeeded, why wouldn’t Betolar at some point?
Finnish Company Strikes Gold in Central Asia – Revenue Multiplies 60-fold
Ylöjärvi-based Epse has signed agreements with a total value of almost 400 million euros upon realization.
Finnish Epse will soon be separating valuable metals from mining waste in Central Asia.
Epse and its US-based affiliate Epse Technology Inc. have signed an agreement with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Mining and Geology to establish a joint venture.
The agreement covers the construction of a Green Zone unit in Uzbekistan and includes an option for the implementation of five additional units. The program’s value, upon realization, is approximately 200 million euros.
A Green Zone unit is a facility that processes industrial and mining process waters and wastewaters containing soluble metals. The method is developed and patented by Epse.
Valuable and critical raw materials, as well as rare earth metals, are recovered from the waste. The method has been tested for 50 metals.
“The value of one unit is approximately 35 million euros. The goal is to build five more units. We can build two units simultaneously, so the work will take about five years,” says Epse’s CEO Jouni Jääskeläinen.
The first Green Zone unit to be completed in Uzbekistan will be built over the next 24 months, and its operations will commence in 2027.
On Tuesday, October 28, the company signed a memorandum of understanding for a project of similar scale with the state-owned Kazakh company Samruk-Kazyna Ondeu LLP. The concept is the same as in Uzbekistan.
“This is a tremendous change to our current operations. Once the plant is installed, we will sell chemicals worth two million euros annually. We are progressing step by step; initially, revenue will multiply.”
If all plans are realized, the total value of the projects will rise to 400 million euros.
Kauppalehti reported in 2021 on Epse’s cooperation in purifying wastewater from Chinese coal-fired power plants. The project did not proceed. Jääskeläinen is not bothered by it.
“There are enough mines built with old technology in the world, so there is plenty of work for us for a long time,” Jääskeläinen says.
Part of the Critical Raw Materials Program
The first Green Zone will be implemented in cooperation with the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials (EU CRM) program and supported by the Finnish state.
The Green Zone program is part of Central Asia’s green transition. It supports the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy, which aims to develop sustainable industry, responsibly utilize natural resources, and strengthen environmental protection.
Epse’s agreements were concluded simultaneously with the official state visit of the President of the Republic Alexander Stubb to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
The aim of the visits is to strengthen Finland’s bilateral relations and economic cooperation with both Central Asian countries. Epse has been part of the presidential delegation as a representative of the business community.