The Municipality of Skelleftea is planning to establish a Research Centre in Sweden located at thed village of Boliden about 30 km west of Skelleftea. It has been designated BIOMETECH and will be a Centre of Excellence for bio- and hydro-metallurgical testwork. BIOMETECH will be organised as an independent Industrial Research Centre with its own research facilities as well as the demonstration plant. Although independent the centre will draw on local expertise from the Universities of Lulea and Umea which have been engaged in bio-/hydro-metallurgical research for many years. To achieve a sound basis for the Research Centre, mining companies, waste treatment/recycling companies, minerals/metals equipment, research organisations and universities have and will be invited to take an active part in establishing the BIOMETECH Centre of Excellence. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.