Weir : Mining Technology for a Sustainable Future

Global mining technology leader Weir tackles its customers’ biggest sustainability challenges, from extraction to comminution, processing, and tailings. Mick Henderson, Regional Managing Director – APAC, delves into the company’s end-to-end mining solutions, highlighting its new range of ENDURON® screens and crushers.

MINING TECHNOLOGY FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Asia Pacific (APAC) remains one of the world’s most strategically important mining regions for several reasons.

Indeed, it has high-grade deposits, strong production hubs – including Australia, Indonesia, and China – and fast-growing demand for critical minerals such as copper, nickel, lithium, and rare earths, which will continue as the world decarbonises and electrifies.

Governments across APAC are now reaccelerating permitting and project approvals, recognising mining’s important role in the energy transition.

However, the region is no longer just production-focused – it’s becoming a testbed for next-generation mining technology.

“Many customers in APAC are moving towards the adoption of new technology, digital tools, and sustainable processing solutions,” opens,” Mick Henderson, Regional Managing Director – APAC at Weir.

The industry has developed significantly in the five years since we last featured Weir in October 2021.

Mining is experiencing a steep decline in ore grades, intensifying the need for high-efficiency comminution, advanced wear solutions, and real-time insights.

Customers are also demanding better throughput, reduced operating costs, and lower water and energy intensity.

Moreover, they want end-to-end solutions, local service centres that are close to mine sites, and a strong understanding of their needs.

“We expect that growth in APAC mining over the next decade won’t be about more equipment – it will be about smarter equipment and integrated solutions that help customers mine more sustainably,” Henderson sets out.

MINING TECHNOLOGY LEADER

The Weir Group is a market-leading technology provider to the mining industry.

The group recognises Earth’s future depends on the transition to renewable energy. This can only happen with the metals and minerals delivered by its mining customers who, at the same time, are taking steps to reduce their impact on communities and the environment by making their operations more sustainable.

Combining its deep customer insights, world-class engineering, materials science expertise, and intelligent automation, Weir delivers innovative end-to-end mining technology solutions that help its clients move less rock, use less energy, use water wisely, and create less waste – accelerating the path to smart, efficient, and sustainable mining.

Weir, whose purpose is to enable the sustainable and effective delivery of the natural resources essential to creating a better future for the world, has been powering progress in major industries for over one-and-a-half centuries, challenging norms through engineering innovation and deep process knowledge.

Today, the group’s technologies and expertise sit at the core of critical mining processes, helping customers to drive the energy transition.

“We’re a global leader in mining technology with over 150 years of engineering experience,” says Henderson.

“We work closely with customers, bringing together deep customer insight, engineering expertise, and technology that is designed for high-wear, high-impact applications.”

The Weir Group’s engineered hardware and equipment-agnostic software solutions are used in some of the world’s most demanding environments, helping keep mission-critical operations running safely, reliably, and efficiently, addressing sustainability challenges and building the resilience and trust needed for a long-term licence to operate.

Globally, the group has a team of over 12,000 experts across 50+ countries, supported by a network of technology hubs, manufacturing operations, and service centres.

In APAC, Weir has 1,900 colleagues working from 30 facilities. This means the company is close to its customers, working with them to keep mission-critical operations running and driving real results in efficiency, sustainability, and performance.

With local manufacturing capability in Australia, China, India, and Malaysia, the group constantly invests in its facilities, technology, and capability to expand production capacity and meet increasing customer demand in APAC.

“We’re investing in long-term capability in the region so customers have access to globally leading technology right at their doorstep.

“We’re heavily invested in regional service hubs, local engineering capability, manufacturing, R&D, and distribution centres aligned to our APAC operations,” confirms Henderson.

END-TO-END SOLUTIONS

Weir provides the APAC mining industry with engineered processing solutions and is a global leader in engineering, manufacturing, and servicing the processing technology used in abrasive, high-wear mining applications.

Working with customers, Weir uses its technical expertise and extensive footprint to help solve problems and optimise entire processes.

From reducing downtime to boosting throughput and increasing plant capacity, the company provides customised, fully integrated solutions.

“We’ve got some world-class solutions to provide better total cost of ownership and throughput for our clients.

“Our engineered hardware solutions are about tackling our customers’ biggest sustainability challenges, from extraction to comminution, processing, and tailings,” notes Henderson.

Weir is improving extraction equipment durability and enabling more efficient material flow, which helps to reduce downtime, improve safety, and support more resource-efficient extraction.

As miners want to reduce the effort spent on processing zero and low-grade ore, Weir helps them to optimise the material entering their processing plant.

In comminution, the division’s engineered hardware reduces material size and is digitally enabled to provide the visibility and control needed to optimise performance.

“This maximises throughput, manages wear, and improves process stability whilst reducing energy and water intensity and minimising reprocessing,” Henderson explains.

In today’s very energy-intensive mining industry, Weir’s solutions deliver significant energy savings and lower carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

For processing, the company’s products support efficient material movement and separation, whilst its digital solutions provide insight and control to optimise processing performance.

Combined, these technologies improve recovery, increase recycling, and reduce water intensity, supporting stable operations and more effective resource management.

As water is fundamental in minerals processing, Weir’s solutions increase water recovery and recycling and introduce water-free steps.

In tailings, the division provides solutions that improve dewatering, reduce volumes, and recover more water by reuse.

Today, over 90 percent of waste rock ends up in tailings; Weir helps to manage the tailings produced more safely and sustainably.

By creating less waste and supporting safer tailings storage, the company lowers environmental risk and contributes to more sustainable long-term tailings management.

“We put a lot of focus into how we support mining technology for a sustainable future, looking at how we move less rock, use less energy, use water wisely, and create less waste,” asserts Henderson.

“It’s really focused on what we can bring to make the whole process more sustainable, use less resources, and be more cost-effective. That comes from some of the novel technologies and best-in-class products we have.”

TECHNOLOGY OFFERING

Weir continues to invest in expanding its technology offering to address its customers’ most pressing operational challenges.

“We combine world-class engineering, innovation, and a vertically integrated manufacturing base to deliver highly engineered original equipment, integrated process solutions, and aftermarket products that solve our customers’ biggest challenges with the lowest total cost of ownership,” Henderson emphasises.

Weir has a number of innovative technologies across the mineral processing flowsheet, from extraction all the way through to comminution, processing, and tailings.

“We’re talking crusher screens, pumps, valves, cyclones, hoses, wear materials, and dewatering through our Terraflowing™ solution,” he outlines.

“We also manufacture the positive displacement pumps used in tailings and concentrate pipelines. As far as the processing plant is concerned, we have a significant brand stack.”

These signature brands include ESCO®, ENDURON®, WARMAN®, CAVEX®, LINATEX®, and GEHO®.

By combining its market-leading, trusted brands, Weir delivers transformational flowsheets for customers.

Digitalisation, meanwhile, is a game-changing capability and no longer an add-on in APAC mining – rather, it’s becoming a prerequisite for the license to operate.

“Digital and data are unlocking new levels of performance in mining,” observes Henderson.

Weir provides intelligent digital solutions for its products that help monitor wear life, enable predictive maintenance, and support process optimisation.

It also now has the broadest portfolio of equipment-agnostic software solutions across the mining value chain, from exploration to extraction.

“We know that investing in technology maintains our competitive edge,” he acknowledges.

SOFTWARE EXPANSION

This equipment-agnostic software suite, which spans exploration data, orebody modelling, mine design, operations management, and real-time monitoring, has been expanded by two recent acquisitions.

In February 2025, Weir acquired Micromine, a top-tier global software provider to the mining industry with comprehensive solutions across the upstream value chain, headquartered in Perth, Australia.

The AUD$1.3 million acquisition is a significant step in Weir’s strategy of investing in technology to drive smart, efficient, and sustainable mining.

“It really accelerates our digital vision and is the foundation of our software solutions business,” highlights Henderson.

The acquisition also provides a compelling opportunity for strong value creation in the immediate and long-term.

Combined, Weir and Micromine will create a sector-leading, globally scaled platform to optimise performance across the mining process.

This will allow the former to further harness digital technology to drive productivity and sustainability for the global mining industry.

“APAC, particularly Australia, is Micromine’s largest market, and our customers in the region are early adopters of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven modelling, predictive maintenance, and digital twins,” Henderson tells us.

Then, in September last year, Weir also acquired Fast2Mine, a mining software provider with a focus on mine management solutions.

The acquisition complements Micromine’s existing suite of mine planning and control software.

“There’s growing appetite in APAC for integrated digital and mechanical solutions, particularly in brownfield optimisation,” affirms Henderson.

Prior to acquiring Micromine and Fast2Mine, Weir also launched NEXT Intelligent Solutions (NEXT), an advanced digital twin platform.

NEXT optimises mining equipment performance by providing accurate, real-time data and actionable recommendations.

The platform’s AI-based automation technology is the next step in digitally empowered mining. Acting as an intelligent assistant, NEXT constantly updates to meet mine site challenges and offers step-by-step support to achieve sustainability, productivity, and safety goals.

“NEXT delivers real value to our customers with increased plant throughput, reduced energy and water usage, predictive wear monitoring, and prevention of unplanned downtime,” Henderson elaborates.

“It helps our customers look at their product health, faults, errors, throughput, wear detection, and all of the digitalisation that’s required to run a modern plant.”

SCREENING EQUIPMENT

Another technology, Weir’s ENDURON® vibratory screens, are designed for the tough conditions of the mining and minerals processing industries.

The screens are renowned for their performance and high capacity within fine-sizing applications. Indeed, they offer exceptionally high throughput per screening area and are very effective where the minerals to be classified contain a large amount of fine material.

ENDURON® vibratory screens make particle size separation possible, protect crushers from abnormal feeds, and process the crusher’s discharge before feeding the next phase of the circuit.

Each screen is expertly designed following in-depth material testing and review of the application’s particle size distribution.

Built for maximum throughput and efficiency, ENDURON® vibratory screens offer outstanding performance and use the latest in materials technology, providing long service life, even in very demanding applications.

Like most highly engineered equipment, product selection is key to ensuring the screens operate at optimum performance.

“We manufacture a wide variety of screens, all of which have been purpose-built to meet specific requirements,” informs Henderson.

“From dewatering to horizontal and multi-slope vibrating screens, each variation has specific features and benefits to ensure they excel in their specific application.”

There are two new products in the range that were recently launched, namely the ENDURON® Elite and ENDURON® Orbital screens.

The former, a multi-slope vibratory screen designed for dry and wet screening applications within hard rock mining and mineral processing, has been well-received by the market.

All ENDURON® Elite banana screens are engineered to suit particular needs, meaning they fit perfectly and are fully equipped to perform in each specific application.

“ENDURON® Elite offers exceptionally high throughput per area, delivering significant advantages in efficiency and lowering total flowsheet energy consumption by up to 40 percent when the flowsheet includes high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) and stirred mills,” Henderson reveals.

“Our double-deck banana screens have simplified maintenance requirements, ensuring minimal downtime. The first ENDURON® Elite screens have just been completed in South Africa and will soon be manufactured in India.”

ELITE PERFORMANCE

From an operational perspective, ENDURON® Elite has allowed customers – particularly those in remote locations – to simplify their maintenance activities and reduce their inventory management.

The screens have been designed based on stress analysis for gigacycle fatigue, including natural frequency identification and tuning, resulting in large operating windows.

They are manufactured to withstand the effects of dynamic loading, with careful consideration paid to wear distribution and the lining materials used.

Whereas most machines of comparable size on the market today require three exciters, ENDURON® Elite screens are driven by just two, featuring the largest vibration-duty bearings in the world.

The two patented ETX exciters are mounted comparatively closer to the side plates, which reduces the force acting on the middle of the exciter beam.

Moving the exciters closer to the side plates also reduces the localised bending movement at the beam and side plate interface.

In contrast, screens with three exciters experience higher levels of deflection in the exciter beam, which results in heavier designs.

ENDURON® Elite screens can be used for secondary cone crusher, tertiary, large-throughput, and product screening, as well as feed preparation and desliming.

Perhaps most notably, though, they excel in screening HPGR discharge applications.

This application typically requires very large screens because HPGR circuits operate with up to a 200 percent recirculation load, resulting in high screen-feed rates.

Moreover, because the cut size of typical HPGR screens ranges from one to four millimetres (mm), larger screens than those usually employed in typical mining applications are required to ensure optimal performance.

ORBITAL OPERATIONS

Also new to the market, ENDURON® Orbital fills an important gap for smaller, lower-tonnage mining operations.

Available in both circular (C-series) and elliptical (E-series) motion screens, ENDURON® Orbital is well-suited to crushing circuits in both secondary and tertiary screening duties.

“ENDURON® Orbital horizontal and inclined vibrating screens feature an all-bolted construction and deliver exceptional screening efficiency and accuracy,” shares Henderson.

During the development phase, Weir consulted its customers and used their feedback to directly inform some of its most important design decisions.

The most significant design feature – and thing that separates ENDURON® Orbital from other comparably sized screens on the market – is its all-bolted construction, which removes all welding from the main screen body.

Weir’s rationale for this design decision was straightforward – most screen failures are caused by high stress in welded joints, so eliminating these ensures more reliability.

The screens are manufactured to leading finite element analysis (FEA) and high-cycle fatigue standards.

They are also manufactured using automated computer numerical control (CNC) techniques – including laser profiling, bending, cutting, and drilling – to ensure the process is replicable.

The other benefit of the all-bolted design, which uses locking bolts in lieu of welding, is that it streamlines maintenance during the replacement of components.

“Individual components can be easily replaced thanks to the modular screen construction, whilst common interchangeable screen parts reduce inventory overflow,” Henderson explains.

Another important piece of feedback Weir received from its customers during the design phase of the ENDURON® Orbital screen was they wanted a machine that could be easily adjusted without undermining or risking its structural integrity.

When feed conditions or the application change, screens are subject to harmonic resonance, which can lead to structural failure.

Crucially, adjustments to the throw angle, speed, and stroke can be made on the E-series screens, providing operators with more flexibility without compromising the equipment’s structural integrity.

Indeed, providing customers with a high level of flexibility was prioritised and has informed other aspects of the design.

“The screens are engineered with a wide operating window, providing the flexibility to change screen settings in line with operating conditions,” assures Henderson.

NEXT-GENERATION CRUSHERS

In September last year, Weir also launched the ENDURON® cone and jaw crushers, designed to deliver safer, smarter, and more sustainable mining operations.

The ENDURON® range was delivered in close collaboration with customers to address their most pressing operational challenges.

“Following consultation with our customers, we redesigned and rebuilt our ENDURON® crusher range to meet the evolving needs of the industry,” Henderson says.

“This next-generation range reflects our commitment to developing solutions that our customers need and sustainable innovation.”

Weir’s customer-first approach has resulted in equipment that enhances safety, boosts productivity, simplifies maintenance, and supports sustainability goals.

“They are engineered for high performance and energy efficiency, easy to install, simple to commission, and ready to take on the most demanding applications,” he enthuses.

The updated ENDURON® jaw crushers feature a redesigned hydraulic power unit (HPU), which allows for true push-button control of closed-side setting adjustments.

This innovation eliminates the need for manual intervention, significantly reducing safety risks for operators and maintenance teams.

The new HPU also ensures consistent tensioning of the retraction springs at all times, improving reliability and ease of use across the full wear range of the jaw dies.

Optimised motor power and oil tank capacity reduce both the HPU’s CO₂ footprint and environmental impact.

To further improve performance and lower downtime, the entire range of ENDURON® jaw crushers includes ESCO® wear parts.

“ENDURON® crushers aren’t just built to perform – they’re built to endure with a unified hydraulic and lubrication system, advanced control, and premium ESCO® wear parts,” Henderson points out.

These components have been rigorously tested and proven to extend wear life, which means fewer maintenance interventions and increased equipment utilisation – translating to lower operating costs and more efficient production.

The upgraded ENDURON® cone crushers also benefit from ESCO® wear liners and a newly designed hydraulic and lubrication power unit (HLPU).

This compact, plug-and-play system reduces the environmental footprint and simplifies installation, making it ideal for sites looking to streamline setup and minimise impact.

SAFE, SMART, SUSTAINABLE

Additionally, the automation platform across all cone crusher models has been enhanced to ensure consistent and reliable crushing operations.

With IO-Link digital sensors and Siemens hardware, customers enjoy seamless integration, easier troubleshooting, and intuitive control through a new human-machine interface, which simplifies servicing and improves operational efficiency.

The new range includes the ENDURON® ET series of jaw crushers, as well as both the EP fixed-shaft and EC live-shaft series of cone crushers, offering tailored solutions to meet the specific needs of each site and application.

This flexibility ensures customers can select the ideal equipment for their unique operational requirements.

As mining operations increasingly focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, Weir’s new ENDURON® crushers are designed to support this transition.

By complementing the existing ENDURON® screens and HPGRs, the new crushers enable customers to build fully integrated flowsheets that reduce energy consumption and improve overall performance.

“When we combine this new range of ENDURON® cone and jaw crushers with our ENDURON® HPGRs, screening equipment, and digital solutions, mines can maximise the throughput of mined material whilst reducing energy and water intensity and minimising reprocessing to support more efficient and sustainable mineral processing,” details Henderson.

Whether upgrading existing equipment or planning a new installation, the ENDURON® range of comminution products is built to help customers operate smarter, safer, and more sustainably.

WATER MANAGEMENT

Sustainability in APAC mining is shifting from compliance to business-as-usual. Today, the most sustainable mines are also the most efficient and low-cost operators.

Weir’s customers across the region are responding to four sustainability pressures – water management, tightened tailings regulations, strengthened emissions reduction targets, and community expectations on land and water use.

“We know that scaling metals production to meet net zero goals has placed water at the heart of mining’s sustainability challenge,” Henderson recognises.

“Water is essential for extracting the critical minerals that underpin modern life and decarbonisation, yet mining faces acute and chronic water risks driven by climate change, declining ore grades, and rising societal expectations.”

Water management in mining is no longer a tactical site issue – it’s a strategic imperative. Inefficiencies and uncertainties in water supply and treatment threaten social licence, investor confidence, and operational resilience.

Elevating water to a central priority opens the door for mining to scale sustainably, reduce risks, and drive the net zero transition.

“In our region, we’re seeing the impact of climate change intensify droughts and floods, disrupt operations, and increase costs,” insights Henderson.

Community and investor expectations are also rising, with water stewardship now a key factor in securing finance and social licence.

“Our customers know that strategic water management can reduce costs, build resilience, and has the potential to unlock new sources of funding,” he states.

Weir is helping customers with integrated, end-to-end management and advising them on the innovative technologies available to them today.

From advanced ore sorting and comminution to tailings dewatering, these are proven solutions that can reduce water use and improve efficiency.

“Our circuit solutions combine WARMAN®, CAVEX®, GEHO® and ENDURON® technology to reduce water use and tailings footprint. These are solutions that also extend mine life and reduce environmental impact,” Henderson highlights.

When it comes to the future of water management, the mining sector is in the driver’s seat of transformation.

It’s about reducing costs and risks, strengthening community relations, and supporting the transition to a low-carbon future.

However, to be successful, water must be treated as a core part of mine design and operation.

“We need to work across the sector and with stakeholders to share knowledge and accelerate innovation,” urges Henderson.

“Mining needs to adopt the best available technologies to implement integrated flowsheets and digital solutions to optimise water use. Consistent metrics and reporting are also essential to building trust and transparency with communities, investors, and regulators.”

ZERO HARM

Mining is an inherently high-risk industry, and there are many aspects to ensuring sites are safe for those working on them.

One of the major ones is manufacturing equipment to the highest safety standards.

Weir is committed to zero harm and places safety at the heart of everything it does.

That means having policies and procedures in place to protect employees, as well as ensuring safety is the paramount factor in designing, manufacturing, and servicing equipment.

“Safety is our number one priority, and we are firmly committed to zero harm,” Henderson affirms.

Indeed, one of the group’s five values is thinking safety first, alongside delighting the customer, doing the right thing, aiming high, and respecting each other.

These values guide how it operates – shaping decisions, behaviour, and accountability across the business.

In addition to safety, Weir has a keen focus on sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

Sustainability is embedded in everything the group does; its strategy has evolved from a roadmap into a fully integrated approach.

Weir plays a critical role in helping the mining industry reduce its footprint with advanced technology and expertise.

Through innovation and collaboration, the division is shaping a more sustainable future for mining.

“It’s about how we focus on the customer extracting value with local support, Tier 1 products, distribution centres, technical advice, and all the things they need to keep their operations running 24/7 in the most efficient way,” Henderson closes.

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