Metso Corporation’s press release on January 15, 2026, at 09:00 a.m. EET 

Metso’s Direct Blister Furnace has been successfully started up at Kamoa Copper’s Kamoa Kakula copper smelter in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the first copper anodes cast at the end of December. The 500 ktpa copper production furnace is the world’s largest licensed single flash smelting furnace by copper capacity. 

Annebel Oosthuizen, Managing Director of Kamoa Copper S.A. stated: "The successful casting of the first anodes is a significant milestone for us, showcasing the professionalism and dedication of our entire team. Collaboration with Metso during this project has been smooth from the early stages through to commissioning. Metso’s state-of-the-art Direct Blister Furnace and anode casting shop technologies are expected to deliver exceptional operational efficiency, supporting also our commitment to sustainable copper production.” 

"I would like to extend my congratulations to Kamoa Copper and all the teams who contributed to the successful start up of the new copper smelter. We are proud to support Kamoa Copper with our leading solutions in their ambitious expansion, which emphasizes sustainability, safety, and quality with high process performance," said Jyrki Makkonen, Vice President, Smelting at Metso. 

Metso’s delivery to the Kamoa Kakula smelter includes key equipment with advanced automation. The Direct Blister Furnace is engineered to produce blister copper in a single flash furnace process. It eliminates the need for separate converting stages and enables an environmentally efficient plant. In addition, Metso has supplied the Anode Casting Shop, which ensures the production of high-quality anodes with dependable performance. The scope also includes an intelligent safety automation system for the furnace and digital solutions for higher-level process control, as well as advanced monitoring. Metso announced the contract for the Direct Blister Furnace in November 2022. 

Unmatched offering for the copper processing industry 

Metso is a leading technology and services supplier to the copper processing industry, offering comprehensive solutions that span the entire production chain – from concentrate processing to refined copper. Advanced Metso Plus solutions enable significant reductions in CO₂ emissions, improve energy and water efficiency, and ensure high metal recovery even from challenging raw materials.  

For copper smelting, Metso provides a range of solutions, such as its market-leading Outotec® Flash Smelting and Ausmelt® processes, along with Lurec® technology to enhance gas cleaning and sulfuric acid recovery. Metso’s offering also includes e-Scrap smelting technologies for electronic waste recycling and a comprehensive range of shutdown and lifecycle services. Metso’s flash smelting and anode casting processes are recognized as the cleanest and most energy-efficient options available for copper production. Since the 1950s, Metso has delivered over 60 flash furnaces and over 100 anode casting plants around the world. Most of the products are part of the Metso Plus offering.