Metallurgy & hydrometallurgy
MaximaLabs vs METSIM
Modern, browser-based hydrometallurgy modeling with an AI copilot — for the battery-metals and critical-minerals plants METSIM's desktop era was never built for.
METSIM is a long-standing general-purpose metallurgical process simulator with decades of unit models and a deep mining/metals installed base. But it's a Windows-desktop, seat-licensed, macro-driven tool with no web access, collaboration, or AI. MaximaLabs brings hydrometallurgy — leaching, solvent extraction, electrodialysis, crystallization, and metal speciation — into the browser with an AI copilot and live sharing, aimed at the battery-recycling and lithium-brine circuits driving today's growth.
An honest comparison
Where METSIM is genuinely stronger
- Decades of established metallurgical unit models and a large mining/metals installed base
- Deep in comminution, pyrometallurgy, and complex established metallurgical recycle circuits
- The trusted incumbent for large legacy metallurgical flowsheets
Where MaximaLabs wins
- Runs in any browser — no desktop install, no seat license (usage-based pricing)
- AI copilot builds and explains flowsheets; plain-English convergence diagnostics
- Live multiplayer and shareable links instead of emailed model files
- Built for the new critical-minerals workflows: black-mass recycling, Li brine, hydromet leach/SX/crystallize
The honest positioning
Being straight about the wedge is the point.
MaximaLabs is the modern, accessible modeling layer for hydrometallurgy and battery-metals design — not a replacement for METSIM's decades of established pyrometallurgical models. Designing a lithium or battery-recycling circuit and want speed, AI, and collaboration? Start here.