Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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VDMA Pumping Technology: Providing Solutions for All Types of Fluids Mines and mineral-processing plants alike rely on pumps, both for dewatering and for handling process slurries, reagents and high solids-content materials such as tailings. Each of these applications presents its own challenges for which German manufacturers have developed specific solutions in terms of pump concepts, capabilities and construction materials. Some manufacturers specialize even further. For example, uses for Uraca GmbH & Co. KG's high-pressure plunger pumps can include handling hot, highly abrasive, rapid-settling slurries such as coal suspensions during liquefaction, the company reports. It also notes that its high-pressure pumps—capable of delivering water at pressures above 2,000 bar—can be used for cleaning out deposits from process tanks such as autoclaves and other reactors, while other uses include scale removal in metal works and foundries. Meanwhile Odesse Pumpen- und Motorenfabrik GmbH focuses on its unique range of submersible dewatering pumps, which feature a "wet-motor" design to overcome water-ingress problems. Featured in the last edition of Best of Germany, the company's pumps are also used for in-situ leaching in both the uranium and lithium industries. A 65th Anniversary, and Still Pumping Hard In November 2012, Abel GmbH & Co. KG celebrated its 65th anniversary, having been established in 1947 as a producer of pumps for handling abrasive coal mining slurries. Today, its range includes membrane, solids-handling, high-pressure and marine pumps, all of which are made at its operations in Büchen. Over the past 20 years, the company says, it has become increasingly strong in the international market as well as retaining a major share of domestic business. Abel's product portfolio now includes simplex, duplex, triplex and quadruplex diaphragm pumps for slurry and tailings transfer, feeding autoclaves and filter presses, mine dewatering and thickener-underflow applications. It also has hydraulically driven duplex piston pumps for paste transfer, as well as high-pressure triplex plunger pumps for gland water seal applications. Abel says its piston diaphragm pumps offer low operating costs because of the physical separation of the abrasive slurry from the pump's main moving parts by pre-moulded rubber diaphragms. Abel's HMT series of piston diaphragm pumps. VDMA 42 Only the product valves on the suction and discharge side, and the diaphragms themselves, are in direct contact with the slurry. Meanwhile, the piston diaphragm pump's reciprocating principle gives a very high mechanical efficiency of more than 93%. In consequence, running costs are low, making the use of this type of pump very competitive when compared to more conventional slurry-transfer systems. By way of an example, Abel reports that one of its HMT160-1000 triplex single-acting piston diaphragm pumps has been in use for a number of years at Konkola Copper Mines' (KCM) concentrator at Chingola, Zambia, where it is used to pump 90 m3/h of classified tailings from a thickener and cyclone installation over a distance of 3.5 km for use as backfill underground. The slurry contains 70 mt/h of dry solids, at a 50% solids concentration, with the pump operating at a pressure of 50 bar. According to Abel, operating costs for the pump have been very low since start-up, with its energy consumption less than 160 kW. It has also been very economical in terms of spare parts, with replacements being limited to exchanging the valves every 5,000-7,000 hours. The diaphragms are replaced every 12,00016,000 hours under preventative maintenance. The company adds that KCM was so pleased with the performance of this pump that it subsequently placed an order for a second similar unit. Slurry Pumps for Mining The mining industry presents pumps with some of their greatest challenges, requiring solutions that are made from the latest abrasion-resistant materials. For more than 135 years, Frankenthalbased KSB AG has been designing and manufacturing pumps that, it says, have pioneered new industry standards and delivered reliable performance in the most arduous mining applications. The company states that many decades of experience have created high-performance, low-maintenance pumps that find applications in slurry transport, draining lagoons and tunnels, handling wastewater, delivering chemicals and fire-fighting. In the U.S., GIW is part of the KSB group, producing slurry pumps for mining and suction dredger applications worldwide. According to KSB, these long-life pumps can move just about any material, quickly and efficiently—be it phosphate rock in Florida or tar sands in Canada, fabricated aluminium products in Australia, copper ore in Chile or aluminium oxide in Germany. Designed for handling very abrasive materials, its pumps are made from an especially wear-resistant white iron developed by KSB, giving a long service life, the company adds. With some of the world's largest copper sulphide concentrators located in Chile, a number of the mining companies working there have found that GIW pumps have given increased wear life, reduced maintenance and less downtime. Experience in Chile led to the development of GIW's iPump for operation in conjunction with cyclone feed pumps. KSB notes that this uses the best available technology to improve wear life, providing substantial cost savings. Copper miners in Indonesia have also looked to KSB for answers. The company reports that for one of the largest mines, where existing pumping equipment had shown extreme wear, it designed a heavy-duty version of its LSA pump, creating an optimized unit with VDMA MINING SUPPLEMENT • 2013