Weir said the sale, which it expects to complete by the end of 2020, was motivated by the expectation that demand for mining technologies would grow as part of the transition to a low carbon society.

"[This sale] means Weir is ideally positioned to benefit from long-term structural demographic trends and climate change actions which will increase demand for essential metals that must also be produced more sustainably and efficiently," said Jon Stanton, chief executive.

The oil and gas sale covers its Pressure Pumping and Pressure Control business units, and associated after-market spare departments.

"Alongside the previous sale of the Flow Control division and the acquisition of ESCO, it is a major milestone in transforming the group into a focused, premium mining technology business".

Weir sold its flow control arm to private equity investment firm First Reserve for £275m (US$356 million) in 2019, and completed a US$1.3bn deal to buy a US mining tools specialist. Oregon-based ESCO, in 2018.

The company reported in July that first-half minerals orders had fallen 6% to £724 million (US$981 million) against a record high in the first half of 2019, with £83 million in Integrated Solutions orders alone. While original equipment orders fell 11% from the previous first half, reflecting project delays related to Covid-19, these were up sequentially in the second quarter.

In the same update, the firm said Oil & Gas revenues had plunged 48%, creating an operating loss of £4 million.

Stanton said in an investor presentation that the Caterpillar sale facilitated a US$70 million cash benefit.

"We have highly abrasive applications [in mining] that drive aftermarket demand … It is also important to appreciate the strength of our market position", added the chief executive.

"Because mining is a very conservative business, and downtime can cost up to £10 million a day. This means that when miners find technology partners they can trust, they tend to stick with them."

To illustrate the minerals demand potential of renewable power, Weir, which processes the majority of the world's copper, noted that the IEA had projected that EVs will have four times the copper content of a conventional car. 

When compared to the equal amount of power generated by coal power plants, the generation with solar power and wind power would require three and ten times, respectively, the copper required.