PUMPS & PIPELINES
ABEL has been advancing mining pumps through the integration of intensive remote monitoring and AI into its piston diaphragm pump technology pump at a major gold producer in North America. The results were both immediate and sustained. Over the course of the trial, gland water consumption dropped from an average of 16.8 m ³/ h( 74 GPM) using a standard lantern ring to 8.3 m ³/ h( 36.5 GPM) with the new ring – an average reduction of approximately 50 %.
“ Equally important was how the system performed under real-world variability. The pump operated for extended periods at flowrates below traditional recommendations, yet inspection at the end of the campaign showed the shaft sleeve, packing, and ring remained in excellent condition. Reliability improvements extended beyond wear reduction. Operators reported that no packing adjustments were required during the full operating cycle – an indicator of both stable sealing performance and reduced maintenance demand.”
over time. Crucially, the AI can predict wearrelated issues up to 21 days in advance, enabling planned maintenance without disrupting critical backfilling operations.
“ Field results demonstrate that this AImonitoring tool and predictive approach can transform maintenance strategies. Routine inspections that previously required up to 24 hours of downtime can now be reduced to targeted actions lasting less than three hours. As a result, paste pump and plant availability has exceeded 97 %, while maintenance becomes safer, faster, and more precise.”
By combining robust piston diaphragm pump design with intelligent monitoring and AI-driven diagnostics, ABEL says it is redefining paste pump availability. The technology not only protects critical equipment, but also supports smoother paste production planning, optimised binder usage, and improved synchronisation with underground mining cycles.
FLS on rethinking slurry pump sealing
FLS experts Luis Echeverri, Hydraulic Design Engineer, and Nazar Cem, Hydraulic Design Engineer pointed out to IM that in an industry where water is both essential and increasingly constrained, mining operators are under growing pressure to reduce consumption without compromising performance.“ One often-overlooked area of opportunity lies within slurry pump sealing systems – specifically, the gland water required to protect packing and prevent solids ingress. Traditionally, this has been accepted as a necessary cost of operation. However, FLS set out to challenge this paradigm – driving innovation with a clear goal: to help customers significantly reduce
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water consumption while maintaining, and even improving, pump reliability.”
FLS’ s latest development, a redesigned lantern ring, introduces a fundamentally new approach to slurry pump sealing – one that not only improves reliability but has demonstrated the ability to reduce gland water consumption by up to 50 % under real operating conditions.
Echeverri and Cem argue that what sets FLS’ s new lantern ring apart is its origin. Rather than looking to traditional pump designs, FLS applied lessons learned from KREBS hydrocyclones – leveraging concepts like tangential fluid introduction into a cyclonic chamber and minimised turbulence to better control particle movement and improve sealing performance.
Inside the pump stuffing box, the ring applies a similar principle. Instead of injecting sealing water radially, as traditional lantern rings do, it introduces water tangentially, creating a controlled vortex around the shaft sleeve. This cyclonic motion augments solids entrainment and actively moves them away from the packing interface, reducing the water required and the risk of abrasive wear. Computational fluid dynamics( CFD) modelling confirmed that this approach produces higher, more uniform velocities and significantly improved flushing efficiency compared to standard designs. The result is a 30-50 % reduction in gland seal water consumption, without compromising sealing effectiveness.
The concept is simple, but the impact is profound: better solids flushing with less water and increased reliability. While numerical flow simulations and extensive laboratory testing provided valuable insight, the true test of any innovation lies in the field. To validate the lantern ring, FLS conducted a trial on a large cyclone feed
FLS’ s latest development, a redesigned lantern ring, introduces a fundamentally new approach to slurry pump sealing
In practical terms, this translates to fewer interventions, less downtime, and greater confidence in pump operation under upset conditions.
FLS says the implications of reducing gland water consumption extend far beyond the stuffing box. For a single mill discharge pump, the redesigned ring can save more than 70,000 cubic metres( 18.5 million US gallons) of water per year. At site level, where dozens or even hundreds of slurry pumps may be in operation, the cumulative impact is significant. Reduced water demand lowers operating costs while also easing pressure on water supply systems, thickeners, and tailings infrastructure.
“ In regions where water scarcity is an increasing concern, these savings represent more than efficiency gains – they directly support sustainability goals. At the same
International Mining | JUNE 2026