Boliden Harjavalta is a leading producer of high-quality copper and nickel, supplying metals to industries worldwide. Located in Finland, the smelter is committed to continuous innovation, operational excellence, and safer, more efficient production. To further optimise its copper converting process, Boliden Harjavalta sought a smarter way to monitor converter temperatures.
Traditional manual measurements were time-consuming and required personnel to work in demanding industrial conditions, highlighting an opportunity to improve both operational efficiency and workplace safety through digitalisation.
Luxmet's TempSpec system offered a new approach
Installed across four converters in 2018, TempSpec has since become an integral part of Boliden Harjavalta’s daily operations. Using advanced optical emission spectrometry (OES), the system provides real-time temperature measurements directly from the converter process, including at temperatures exceeding 1,000 °C. This continuous insight helps operators better understand process conditions and supports informed operational decisions.
“Thanks to the Luxmet’s TempSpec design and robustness, maintenance requirements are low. TempSpec has given us additional real-time insight into our converter temperatures,” says Eero Siitari, Production Engineer, Copper Smelter at Boliden.
“TempSpec’s sensors operate without contact with the molten metal, helping minimise wear and maintenance requirements while enabling reliable temperature monitoring in demanding smelting conditions,” says Pekka Huhtala, Business Development Manager at Luxmet.
Since 2018, TempSpec has supported Boliden Harjavalta in bringing greater visibility and reliability to its copper converting process — demonstrating the lasting value of real-time process monitoring in modern metal production.
Further information
Pekka Huhtala
Business Development Manager
Email: pekka.huhtala@luxmet.fi
Phone: +358 50 436 0522
About Boliden Harjavalta
Located in south-west Finland, close to the port on the Baltic Sea. The smelter’s main products are copper, nickel, gold, and silver, as well as by-products such as sulphuric acid. Boliden Harjavalta is unique – the only nickel smelter in Western Europe. At the smelter, nickel matte is produced in one single step thanks to the best and latest technology. Harjavalta also has among the lowest sulphur dioxide emissions per tonne of nickel produced compared to other nickel smelters around the world.
About Luxmet
Luxmet offers real-time control solutions based on analysis of light for high-temperature industrial processes such as electric furnaces, smelters, kilns, welding, and other metals processing. Luxmet’s unique and patented technology, based on OES, enhances process control, safety, and productivity in steel and other metals production and processing. A spin-off from the University of Oulu, Luxmet is the global leader in OES-based real-time control solutions for the steel and metal industry.
