Pumps Contribute to Cost Savings and Boost Production

02.09.2010

Supplier of pumps and accessories Verder Pumps South Africa (VPSA) announced that the use of the VF125 pump range contributes to cost savings and increased productivity at platinum mines.

This was seen at a precious-metal producer’s concentrator upgrade project, near Rustenburg, where VPSA was required to upgrade the thickener transfer pumps for higher production capacity, says VPSA consultant Daan Louw.

The upgrade was possible as the pumps are able to pump slurry with 1,7 specific gravity and at a flow rate of 60 m3/h over a distance of 690 m, with a height of 30 m. This was the most difficult application for a peristaltic pump that VPSA ever had to deal with, he says.

The VF125 thickener pumps resulted in cost savings and increased production capacity, explains Louw.

Process engineering company DRA (then Vhumbanani) was appointed project engineer on the project and approached VPSA to assist in the design of six thickener transfer pumps.

“No other pump on the market is able to transfer the slurry without a second pumpstation, which would come at a significant cost to the mine and would probably take more time to process,” says DRA project engineer Thys de Beer.

There are currently 24 VF125 pumps operating at 37 kWh at the platinum processing plant.

The design for these pumps included installing pulsation dampeners to help decrease the pressure build-up in the pipeline, says Louw.

The build-up in the hoses is eliminated by using rubber Verderflex hoses that are designed to increase life expectancy and production performance. The Verderflex hose pumps are designed to handle tough operating conditions; they reduce downtime, decrease maintenance costs and provide easy operation and reliable solutions in difficult pumping environments.

Industrial machinery and equipment company Robday Rustenburg provided the maintenance for the VF125 pumps to ensure efficient operation, he concludes.

More articles on this topic

Energy-Efficient and Durable Slurry Filter Feed Pump for a Phosphoric Acid Plant

15.12.2023 -

By combining optimal hydraulics and wear-resistant materials of construction in a pump replacement, Sulzer helped a leading phosphate fertilizer producer to increase productivity. Sulzer’s AHLSTAR WPP endsuction single-stage pump has proven to be the right choice. It meets the performance requirements while using less energy and drastically cutting maintenance frequency.

Read more

Expansion and Upgrade Verderflex iDura Family

31.08.2023 -

Verder Liquids is proud to announce an expansion and upgrade to the Verderflex iDura peristaltic pump range. The new additions to the family include the iDura 45, iDura 55, iDura 55HF, iDura 65 and the iDura 80. The Verder IoT application has also been introduced to enable online data monitoring across the entire iDura range, from 5 to 80.

Read more

Netzsch: A Robust, Low Wear Rotary Lobe Pump Successfully Extracts High Solids Content Slurry

02.05.2023 -

A Peruvian mining company reuses process water as part of their iron ore processing. Until November 2019, however, this was made difficult by the fact that the medium, which is collected in a tank on site, has a very high solids content of 60 to 70 per cent. After an attempt to drain the water and remove the sediment in the tank with shovels had failed after four days, the owner decided to purchase a submersible pump with an agitator.

Read more