WW Britagem expands into soil remineralizers with Metso technology

WW Britagem, an aggregates producer based in Ituiutaba, Minas Gerais, identified soil remineralizers as an opportunity to diversify its business and increase the value of materials generated in its traditional crushing operations for the construction market. Located in Brazil’s Triângulo Mineiro region, a major agricultural hub, the company saw strong potential to supply farmers with an input that supports long-term soil fertility while creating a higher-value use for crushed rock products below 19 mm and run-of-crusher material under 25 mm. 

To make the project viable at industrial scale, WW Britagem worked with Metso to define the right technology configuration for producing a fine, standardized remineralizer that complies with Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture requirements. Field studies carried out at the customer’s site confirmed that high-pressure grinding roll technology would deliver the required particle-size distribution and production performance. 

Metso’s solution combines the HRC 800 high-pressure grinding roll crusher with Ty Hummer high-frequency screening in a closed circuit. Designed to process up to 90 t/h of material, the system uses two 150 HP motors, totaling 300 HP of installed power and operates with a 0.8 mm screen opening to ensure that 100% of the final product meets the required reactive fraction. Oversized material is automatically returned to the HRC 800 for reprocessing, helping maintain continuous closed-circuit operation. 

For WW Britagem, the project has delivered clear operational, environmental and economic benefits. Compared with a conventional VSI alternative, HPGR technology requires 30% less power and reduces spare parts costs by more than 20%. The plant’s automation also enables almost autonomous operation, reducing manual intervention, lowering exposure to operational risks and simplifying day-to-day control and maintenance routines. 

The project also creates more valuable use for materials from WW Britagem’s aggregates operations. Instead of disposal, materials can be processed into products for agriculture, reducing waste and avoiding disposal costs. In this way, the project puts circularity into practice by connecting material flows from aggregates production with Brazil’s agricultural value chain. The investment has also generated direct and indirect jobs in the Ituiutaba region and supported the development of new technical skills among local professionals. 

"This is a practical example of circularity. We are repurposing the use of aggregates and construction waste to produce agricultural inputs. The combination of High Pressure Grinding Rolls (HPGR) technology with Ty Hummer high-frequency screens makes this possible in a compact circuit designed for efficient operations, utilizing fewer resources for less environmental impact,” says Alfredo Reggio, Remineralization Specialist at Metso. 

From an agronomic perspective, WW Britagem’s basalt-based remineralizer helps correct soil acidity, supplies potassium above the minimum commercialization threshold required by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and provides silicon, which can support plant resistance to water deficits, pests, and pathogens. The customer is also developing derivative products, such as Agrosilicon, as well as bulk and bagged packaging alternatives for different market segments. 

With the plant in operation, WW Britagem is attracting interest from farmers and building future supply and batch reservation agreements. The growing soil remineralizer market is also supported by government-backed green financing and agricultural credit available to producers in Brazil, creating further opportunities for the use of these products. 

While the company continues particle-size testing aligned with the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (SBCE), this could create potential access to carbon credit opportunities through biological CO₂ sequestration in recovered soils.