Finland-listed Betolar has expanded its partnership with investment group ScaleWolf through a financing arrangement supporting development of technology to recover titanium, vanadium and iron from historic mine tailings in Finland. ScaleWolf will invest €2 million directly into two newly established Betolar subsidiaries and subscribe for a further €1 million of convertible capital notes in Betolar’s parent company. The subsidiary investment includes €1 million for Metal Extraction Technology, or MET, at a €25 million pre-money valuation, and another €1 million for Critical Infrastructure Protection at a €10 million valuation.
MET investment targets Otanmäki tailings
The MET financing is linked to Betolar’s technology development for the Otanmäki mine-tailings project in Finland. Betolar holds 20-year access rights to approximately 10 million tonnes of historic tailings at Otanmäki. The material contains an estimated 49.1 kilograms of titanium per tonne, alongside vanadium and iron.
ScaleWolf has also indicated plans to invest an additional €8 million in MET and a related project company by the end of 2026, subject to definitive agreements. The proposed additional investment would establish a larger financing structure around the metals-recovery technology and its potential commercial deployment.
Technology development moves toward commercial application
The Otanmäki project forms part of broader European efforts to recover strategic and critical materials from mine waste, tailings and industrial residues rather than relying exclusively on new mine development. Historic tailings have already undergone mining and crushing, while their treatment can also address liabilities associated with former mining areas.
The commercial potential of the project depends on the metallurgy of the tailings and the ability to recover titanium and vanadium at sufficient rates and product quality while maintaining viable processing costs. Betolar therefore needs to advance the technology from laboratory and pilot-scale validation toward reliable industrial-scale operation.
Titanium and vanadium recovery
The creation of a separately financed MET vehicle provides the extraction technology with a dedicated corporate structure and an external equity valuation. Titanium is used in aerospace, defence, chemicals and advanced manufacturing, while vanadium is used in specialist steels and energy-storage systems. Europe remains dependent on imported supply across significant parts of both value chains. If the proposed €8 million additional ScaleWolf investment proceeds, further development at Otanmäki will focus on the technical and economic basis for commercial deployment. Key development work includes establishing recovery rates, product specifications, capital requirements and the structure of a full-scale processing project.
