Mining in focus
Peristaltic pumps use less water.
obstacles of pumping solutions for specific
mining applications can be complex — and
these companies simply cannot afford the
potential high cost of losses — in operations,
operational efficiencies and the costs of
equipment churn that can be caused by having
an inferior solution.
One operational area that stands to benefit
significantly from innovations that can assist
with dewatering, is mineral processing. For
instance, there are many cases — and across
Africa — where a mineral processing plant
has been developed on site, or nearby, but
there aren’t smelters for the beneficiation of
the product afterwards. This means that mine
companies are paying to transport a product
to the beneficiation plant, but because it still
contains so much water, the company loses out
on the cost of the water weight versus tonnage
of product transported.
Currently, few traditional centrifugal pumps
on the market are able to transfer slurry at the
high SGs required to save water, and those that
can will certainly experience increased wear
rates. Slurries are often acidic and/or highly
abrasive. Consequentially, conventional slurry
pumps use impellers made from increasingly
expensive materials with service lives that are
sometimes measured in mere days.
www.miningmirror.co.za
As water scarcity becomes a reality, mining
companies are faced with numerous civil and
environmental pressures.
“Verderflex peristaltic hose pumps are the ideal
solution for demanding applications such as
mining thickener slurries and highly abrasive,
high-density, and shear-sensitive or corrosive
liquids,” says Macdougall. These pumps have
earned a reputation as the mining industry’s
slurry pumping workhorse. They are designed
to pump slurry at a higher SG at a steady flow
rate, which significantly reduces the amount of
water-to-product ratio, thereby increasing the
per tonnage of product being transported.
How does a peristaltic pump
work?
Peristaltic pumps work by alternating
compression and relaxation of a hose or a
tube, drawing fluid in and propelling it away
from the pump. A rotating shoe or roller
passes along the length of the hose or tube,
creating a seal between the suction and
discharge sides of the pump. As the pump’s
rotor turns, this sealing point moves along
the tube or hose, displacing product into the
discharge line.
The hose or tube recovers after the pressure
has been released, creating a vacuum. This is
the priming mechanism that draws the product
into the suction side of the pump. Combining
these suction and discharge principles
results in a powerful self-priming positive
displacement action, the benefits of which are
a gentle pumping action at a low velocity with
no product degradation.
MARCH 2019 MINING MIRROR [37]