Corrosive liquid mine pumps
MANY mines are filled with corrosive liquids that cause wear on equipment.
Australian Pump Industries’ new cast 316 stainless steel self-priming centrifugal pump has been introduced to handle corrosive liquids in mining applications.
The new range of mine pumps are close coupled electric drive and feature high efficiencies for both high and low head applications.
The pumps are designed to answer a serious need in mining and chemical industries for cost efficient, ISO9001 quality products capable of handling contaminated and corrosive liquids.
Aussie Pumps product manager, Albie Bester, said that the product was developed for mine tailings and other difficult mine liquids, including light slurries.
“We perceived a major market opportunity for a top-quality stainless-steel pump at a realistic price and built strictly in accordance with our quality culture,” he said.
The first pump to be introduced is a 5.5kW 3in pump that delivers a maximum flow of 1100lpm with the added ability to handle solids to 16mm.
Like all of the Aussie GMP range, the pump is self-priming with the ability to draft water from depths of six metres.
The maximum pump head is 40m, making it ideal for high pressure water transfer or even machinery wash down.
Power for the machine comes from a 5.5 kW TEFC three-phase, two- pole electric drive motor.
Pump and motor are installed from the factory on a heavy-duty steel base for ease of installation.
Optional stainless steel or hot galvanised steel bases are available on request.
Mr Bester said the pump’s big advantage for miners is its ease of repair in the field and simplicity of operation.
“Even changing the seals is simple,” he said.
“The pump is close coupled to the motor with a 316 stainless steel stub shaft.
“Disassembly of the pump body from the motor is a matter of minutes giving access to the pump chamber for clean out or service.”
The secret of the pump’s excellent self-priming characteristics are the big “shoulders” in the priming tank incorporated in the unit’s design.
The high mounted suction port also helps fast self-priming without the need for additional aids like vacuum pumps or compressors.
The pump is available in nickel, aluminium and bronze as well with a semi trash version available in the cast iron configuration.
Seals are heavy duty mechanical style with Nitrile elastomers.
Optional Viton and silicon carbide are also available on request.
The first pumps were sent to Kalgoorlie where they are being used for mine tailings and wash stand applications in high PH level liquids.
Further information including a free mining guide is readily available from Australian Pump Industries or Aussie Pump Distributors throughout Australia or www.aussiepumps.com.au.
making it easy for operators to clean out the bowl or service the impeller without dismantling the body or pipework.
Left over sediment can be flushed out easily with a readily accessible separate drainage port.
For long, trouble free operation, even in trash laden or muddy liquid applications, an oil bath mechanical seal is provided made of tungsten carbide.
The engine powering the pump set is a three cylinder Kubota D1105 and has a number of features including low oil, high temperature shutdown, plus an emergency stop button.
Aussie Pumps offers a free extended five-year warranty on all its range of poly pumps.
“This is a testament to the product and being powered by a high quality Kubota powered diesel engine ensures the customer has complete piece of mind,” Mr Farrugia said.
The Aussie QP60TD/D1105 is mounted on a sturdy skid steel base, has a 60 litre long range fuel tank incorporated into the skid.
The long range fuel tank allows the unit to run up to 10 hours when running at maximum speed.
An integrated centre mounted lifting bar is also supplied.
The unit’s compact design, in spite of its high performance characteristics, allows the unit to be easily trailer mounted or transported by utility vehicle when necessary.
More information can be found at Aussie Pumps or authorised distributors throughout Australia.
WATER shortages and environmental restrictions are increasing the need for mining and quarrying companies to find solutions that reduce water consumption while enabling operations to continue at optimum level.
fine particle specialist Reynolds Soil Technologies (RST) has reported an unprecedented increase in demand for its dust control and water management formulas that require substantially less water to achieve the same, if not better results.
RST has recorded significant increases in supply of its water-saving solutions, including the Hi-Foam formula, every year for the past five years.
RST’s Hi-Foam product has been selling in record amounts, as mining companies find ways to improve mining efficiencies and reduce water consumption to lessen the environmental impacts of their operations.
Hi-Foam requires substantially less water and has been found to be more effective at suppressing dust in the crushing and the bulk material handling processes than traditional water spray dust suppression systems.
Its unique formula was developed by RST in response to increasing demand from mining and quarrying companies for ways to cope with water restrictions while keeping operations running as normal.
The Australian-based, international environmental specialist company develops and manufactures products and solutions for dust suppression, stabilisation and erosion control, and water sediment solutions to assist the mining, construction, civil and agricultural industries.
RST operations and technical director David Handel said increased pressure was being placed on these industries to reduce their environmental impact.
“All companies are required to be a lot more mindful about water consumption to ensure their operations have less of an effect on the environment,” he said.
“We are seeing significant demand for products that require less water usage, especially from companies dealing with drought and water shortages.
“By using RST’s foaming agents, mines are using up to half the amount of water compared to conventional wet spray dust suppression systems.
“Using foam stops dust lift-off in the first instance and is both a short and long-term dust prevention method because it binds dust particles, unlike water that dries out and returns surfaces to dust.”
But it’s not only the mining sector that is becoming increasingly aware of the need to change its processes in order to reduce the impact of its operations and conserve water.
“We are now supplying Hi-Foam as a dust suppression solution to quarry companies throughout Australia who are working with minimum water access to contain hazardous silica dust,” Mr Handel said.
WHILE the market offers specialised slurry pumps to handle thick and abrasive slurries, as well as submersible and sump pumps for pumping clean water, neither of these options provide an effective solution for pumping dirty mine water.
Weir Minerals took its extensive knowledge of pumping slurries and developed the Warman DWU (Dirty Water Unit) pump, designed to handle both increased suspended solids in dirty water whilst operating at high discharge head pressures.
The introduction of, and subsequent clogging from, suspended solids is one of the most common causes of premature failure in a dewatering pump.
‘Upset’ conditions during the underground mining process are the general cause of increased suspended solids levels entering the mine’s dewatering discharge water.
The Warman DWU pump combats both these challenges head on, transporting the dirty mine water to its designated discharge point via single (140m), multi-stage (480m) portable or permanent pumping solutions.
The challenge of dirty water
‘Dirty water’ is the name given to water with too high a percentage of suspended solids to be ‘clean’, but too low of a percentage to be classed as slurry.
Dirty water becomes a problem onsite when the solids concentrate inside a dewatering pump collects around the motor frame, overheating the pump and causing the motor to fail.
The Warman DWU pump is specifically designed to handle dirty water from onsite ponds and open pits with specific gravity (SG) of up to 1.05.
Where a pump built to handle clean water will fail once dirty particles are introduced, the DWU pump will not.
That is because the DWU was designed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and utilises Weir Minerals’ advanced material technology, allowing the DWU pump to process the fluid efficiently and minimise pump maintenance in the long run.
Weir Minerals Africa product manager Marnus Koorts said in most circumstances, high-head clean water pumps will fail when they are required to process even a minute amount of particles.
“Once you have greater than 1pc of particles, a site’s only other option is to install slurry pumps,” he said.
The problem of pumping dirty water with slurry pumps
Slurry pumps are a common answer to the dirty water problem, but this solution is costly and inefficient.
Without a specialised dirty water pump like the Warman DWU, up to three slurry pumps need to be sourced, installed, and maintained just to pump the dirty water as far as a single Warman DWU pump can.
The pump utilises a new high-pressure casing to withstand pressures up to 7000kPa, enabling it to pump operating at maximum speed and achieve a head of 140m at the best efficiency point.
“This results in a lower Total Ownership Cost (TOC) and reduced downtime for the customer while providing them with increased efficiency and energy savings over using slurry pumps in the same application,” Mr Koorts said.
Pumping dirty water with a Warman DWU pump
The Warman DWU pump provides a simple solution to a fluid transfer problem that can quickly affect an entire operation.
By making use of the latest Warman WBH mechanical end design, customers benefit from 90pc common component interchangeability, allowing them to reduce stockholding of spares. In addition, the Warman DWU pump is available with either an electric or diesel motor and can be mounted on either a pontoon, skid, or trailer, which provides sites with the flexibility to move the pump around to where it’s needed.
“Pontoon mounting an electric DWU pump allows for series pumping at base level or stage pumping out of an open pit,” Mr Koorts said.
“With Weir Minerals’ dewatering expertise, we’re able to engineer a complete solution that places the suction end of the pumps into the water, while the pump and motor are mounted at an angle above the water line.
“This keeps the suction end of the pump submerged and eliminates suction problems.
“With a diesel driven pump, we install a vacuum assisted priming system that reprimes the pump when needed. Essentially, customers can set and forget.”
The Warman DWU pump provides a flexible dewatering solution to sites: not only in the portability around site, but in the range of fluids the pump is built to handle.
In the nine years the pump has been on the market, Weir Minerals engineers have continued to improve the DWU’s capabilities. Although designed to handle dirty water, the Warman DWU pump is also able to process clean water with 78pc efficiency, and the addition of a stainless-steel casing means the DWU pump is now suitable for highly acidic applications (pH >2).
The Warman DWU is the ideal solution for dewatering applications where other pumps fail due to the presence of solid particles.
With its robust design compared to the standard dewatering range, and its higher efficiencies and head compared to conventional slurry pumps, the Warman DWU pump is in a class of its own.