PUMPS
A recently designed pump had been engineered using Weir Minerals’ leading edge technology to address the customer’ s needs. The Warman ® advanced centrifugal froth pump with Continuous Air Removal System( CARS) technology is designed to handle separation and removal of gas in a two-stage process. Adding innovative technology to the proven line of Warman ® heavy duty froth pumps gave a stable performance, and there was no need for additional froth volume factor reduction. The superior efficiency of the new Warman ® 6 E- AHFC pump design allowed the use of a smaller size motor. The pump enabled more efficient pumping, particularly for slurry with high FVF – up to 4.0 – and reacted quickly when the froth conditions changed, without air locking the impeller eye. There was no product loss due to sump overflow and CARS venting back to the suction tank.
“ Weir Minerals made a huge effort to solve our pumping problems. The new Warman froth pump has helped us complete the technology project and achieve maximum benefit from flotation without any restriction due to froth pump performance,” states Olli Pere, Project Manager at Yara Siilinjarvi.
Poor performance at the Nástup mine – the Czech Republic’ s biggest open cast lignite mine – meant a new approach to the design and operation of the pump network was needed. Weir Minerals was approached to take on the challenge of designing and implementing a unified, fully-automated dewatering system that would be reliable and efficient, offer longer wear life, reduced maintenance and lower operating costs.
Mine dewatering is a key factor for safe mine operation. Weir Minerals’ solution included heavy duty Warman ® AH ®, Warman ® SVSP and Warman ® SP pumps, as they are suitable to both water and abrasive slurry pumping applications. The Weir Minerals Czech and Slovak team of engineers designed a system employing 127 Warman ® pumps, providing a high degree of reliability and low maintenance and spares consumption.
The robust design of the Warman ® pumps has allowed them to operate for more than 20 years without any wet-end spare part replacement. The pumps have only required bearing assembly parts and spare parts for mechanical seals since their original installation in 1992. In comparison, the pumps used previously achieved an average wear life of just 700 hours.
“ Warman pumps are instrumental in the reliability of the mine dewatering system. The pumps’ sophisticated, robust design, high MPS and resistance are factors lowering the level of required maintenance,” states Jan Hlavacek, Head of Mine Nástup Tušimice( DNT) MDW Section.
Weir Minerals’ capability of coming up with superior materials technology and superior designs, underpinned by fantastic service and support to their customers, is it believes what keeps it one step ahead of competitors.“ In terms of great mining exports, the Warman ® pump is probably one of the greatest pieces of equipment that has ever been sold around the world. We will continue to innovate and make the Warman ® pump even bigger and better,” Ricardo Garib concludes.
Tsurumi progresses in Australia
Australian Pump Industries, Tsurumi’ s exclusive distributor in Australia, says it is proactive in developing applications for slurry pumps.“ Tsurumi is now regarded as a leading submersible slurry pump manufacturer, with a wide range of pumps suitable for handling everything from sandy, salty water, to heavy duty slurry found in the quarry, mining or the concrete industry.”
Tsurumi, which claims to be the biggest manufacturer of electro submersible drainage pumps in the world, developed dewatering pumps during the land reclamation program of the 1950s and 1960s in Japan. Used by the piling and concrete industry, products were designed to handle the aggressive and abrasive applications. Today, the company is highly specialised, making pumps from 2-pole all the way to 6-pole, capable of handling sandy liquids and slurries.
“ The secret of their success is the design of high chrome, cast iron agitators to ensure the smooth suction of the settled matter. This same philosophy is used in single and 3-phase pumps alike, providing the ability to move solids in suspension that conventional pumps can’ t handle. The ultimate extension of the product range is 4 and 6-pole pumps with huge flows, capable of pumping thick slurry. Tsurumi’ s 4- pole GSZ Series will handle flows of up to 18,000 LPM, and heads of up to 54 m.”
The impeller, agitator and suction plate are made of high chrome cast iron to ensure long use against wear. Even if the impeller and suction plate wear down to the point of diminishing pump performance, the plate can be easily replaced or its gap from the impeller adjusted, giving users an easy, inexpensive means of extending use.
Tsurumi’ s GSD series, a new range of heavy duty, high powered agitator pumps, feature horse power ratings of up to 75 kW. They feature high heads and volumes and are set to change the way the international market thinks about mine, quarry and heavy mineral movement.
Tsurumi is today highly specialised, making pumps from 2-pole all the way to 6-pole, capable of handling sandy liquids and slurries
The impeller, agitator and mouth ring are made of high chrome cast iron to ensure long use. Tsurumi have developed a unique mechanism for this series that continuously adjusts the clearance between the mouth ring and the impeller. The pumps in this new series are also equipped with pressure relief ports that release pump pressure applied to the mechanical seals. This enhances reliability in extended use applications.
Like all Tsurumi pumps, the GSZ and the GSD Series offer Tsurumi’ s anti-wicking cable entry. This prevents water incursion due to wicking should the power cable be damaged or the end submerged. Tsurumi also offer two double silicon carbide mechanical seals. Those seals are located in an oil chamber fitted with a unique“ oil lifter.” The guide vanes on the oil lifter ensure that the seals are continuously lubricated and cooled during the operation of the pump.
“ Savings for operators are substantial with both the features mentioned above providing protection from motor burnout from the two most common areas of water entry to the motor and subsequent motor failure.”
Hazleton’ s oil sands experience
South Africa’ s Hazleton Pumps has been actively involved for some years with the de-silting of tailings dams – specifically in Canada. The HIPPO flameproof medium-high voltage; high volume; Submersible Slurry Pump ® has successfully been used to de-silt the tailings dam at the oil sands mines in Fort McMurray, Alberta since 2005.
The HIPPO Model 250-300M HIPPO Submersible Slurry Pumps are used to successfully combat the threat of pollution by de-silting the tailings dams. The pumps operate at a power supply of 4,160 V; absorbing 350 kW while pumping slurry at a rate of 1,000 m 3 / h and at a head of 78 m, under temperature conditions varying from-40 ° C in the winter to + 30 ° C in the summer.
The HIPPO Submersible Slurry Pump Range ® is manufactured locally with a 98 % local content
40 International Mining | JUNE 2018