De Beers’ MV Mafuta. (Image by Gary, Wikimedia Commons).[/caption] A new IoT solution that provides geofencing to maintain safe work distances for crew operating heavy equipment has been installed at De Beers’ marine diamond mining operations. The system relies on Bluetooth low energy locators and wearable sensors as precision crew locator tools, integrated with onboard antennas and a software engine. It has been jointly developed by Orange Business Services, a network-native digital services company, and De Beers Marine South Africa. According to the companies, the solution was successfully piloted on board the MV Mafuta, which is currently the world’s largest offshore diamond mining vessel owned and operated by Debmarine Namibia, a 50/50 joint venture between the Government of the Republic of Namibia and De Beers Group. The vessel operates up to 150 km off the coast of Namibia. In this pilot, Orange Business Services imported the Mafuta’s AutoCAD files and undertook an onboard site survey to map antenna locations to geofence a predetermined area on the vessel. Ten crew members were equipped with wrist sensors. If one of the crew breached the geofenced area onboard the vessel, the ship’s bridge was alerted immediately. “Debmarine Namibia has a very clear aim of ‘zero harm’ across all our operations, and we are constantly looking at ways of enhancing employee safety and especially around the heavy machinery required for diamond recovery operations,” Gerhardus Theron, Vessel Manager of the MV Mafuta, said in a media statement. “(The) pilot phase has now confirmed the potential of this innovative approach that we could embed within our existing safety processes and procedures.” Since the geofencing pilot has already proved successful in one of the most challenging heavy industrial environments – a floating diamond mine at sea, with prolonged exposure to strong vibration and corrosive saltwater, the companies believe the next phase of this development will aim to refine the interface and data collection capabilities, and include testing a trigger function to deactivate machinery in the event of a breach of the geofence by a crew member. This article originally appeared on www.mining.com.
Bauer trench cutter to extract a bulk sample at the Star-Orion diamond project in Saskatchewan. Credit: Rio Tinto[/caption] SASKATOON – Star Diamond has begun to receive results from Rio Tinto‘s bulk-sampling program at the Star-Orion South project in central Saskatchewan. Rio has so far processed material from four of the 10 trenches excavated last year from the Star kimberlite at the project, but full results have only been reported from the first – 19 FALCT001. A total of 2,517 commercial sized diamonds weighing 120.1 carats were recovered from 1,206.4 tonnes of material collected from first trench. (Commercial sized diamonds are defined as those that will not pass through a +1 DTC screen, which has round apertures of 1.09 mm.) The sample included four phases of kimberlite that returned sample grades of between 1.07 carat per hundred tonnes (cpht) and 14.09 cpht. Only two of the kimberlite types were deemed to contribute to the project’s economics and were included in a resource estimate completed by Star as part of a 2018 preliminary economic assessment PEA – MJF (Mid Joli Fou) and EJF (Early Joli Fou). EJF, which Star notes is the dominant kimberlite unit in terms of volume and grade, returned 2,031 diamonds weighing 109.67 carats from 778.24 tonnes for a grade of 14.09 cpht. The three largest diamonds, weighing 3.27, 3.03 and 1.73 carats, were all recovered from this section of the kimberlite. From MJF, 168 diamonds weighing 3.58 carats were recovered from 109.82 tonnes extracted for a grade of 3.26 cpht. “The diamond results from 19FALCT001 provide an early assessment that the trench cutter bulk sampling method has the potential to replicate grades similar to the previous underground bulk sampling and (large diameter diamond drilling) performed by Star Diamond on the Star kimberlite,” said George Read, Star Diamond’s senior vice-president of exploration and development, in a release. “Individual EJF kimberlite samples in this first trench exhibit a range of grades (4.88 to 23.34 cpht), which are as expected for the EJF kimberlite.” Rio Tinto began processing the samples in April at a processing plant it built onsite. Concentrates are shipped offsite to SRC’s lab in Saskatoon for final diamond recovery. The major used a novel method to collect the sample, using a Bauer trench cutter normally used in civil engineering applications. However, while the sample program was designed to minimize diamond breakage, Star says SRC has reported diamonds are being broken – either in the collection or processing of the samples. One issue may be the larger than expected size of samples sent to SRC for processing, but Star says a comprehensive diamond breakage study will be needed to pinpoint the cause. Star also reports that some coarse (6 to 25-mm) kimberlite material from the first bulk sample trench has yet to be processed. The ownership of the Star-Orion project is contested. Rio Tinto signed an agreement with Star in 2017 to earn up to a 60% interest in the Star-Orion project over 7.5 years with spending of up to $75 million. Rio says it has completed the work required under the four-stage agreement, and opted to exercise its rights for a majority stake in the project last November. But Star Diamond says the company has not satisfied its obligations under the agreement and started legal proceedings against its partner in March. The large, low-grade Star-Orion project contains high-value large diamonds and rare Type IIa stones. A 2018 prefeasibility study projected an open-pit operation with a mine life of 34 years would cost $1.4 billion to build and produce 66 million carats. For more information, visit: stardiamondcorp.com.
Teck Resources (TSX: TECK.A | TECK.B; NYSE: TECK), Canada’s largest diversified miner, is exiting the oilsands business with the sale of its 21.3% stake in the Fort Hills project to Suncor Energy (TSX: SU; NYSE: SU) for $1 billion (about US$737.2 million).
The all-cash deal, effective November 1, will boost Suncor’s aggregate share in the oil sands operation to more than 75%. French energy major TotalEnergies SE, which has previously disclosed its intention to also exit the project for not being in line with its climate strategy, currently owns the remaining 24.6%.
“This transaction advances our strategy of pursuing industry leading copper growth and rebalancing our portfolio of high-quality assets to low carbon metals,” chief executive officer Jonathan Price, who assumed the top job at Teck earlier this month, said in the statement.
Fort Hills is an open pit truck and shovel mine located 90 km north of Fort McMurray, in northern Alberta, where raw oil sands bitumen is extracted and then upgraded. Suncor Energy is the majority-owner and operator of the mine, which started producing in 2018.
The operation has faced challenges in recent years, including missed production targets, safety issues and increasing costs, which prompted Suncor to launch an ongoing in-depth review of the asset.
The Calgary-based energy giant said in a separate statement it had begun a multi-year improvement initiative to optimize production. Over the next three years, Suncor expects 5% lower gross production and increased operating costs per barrel as it makes improvements for the long-term.
Production at Fort Hills was trimmed last year after it was discovered that work was needed to stabilize a slope at the mine. The operation was also hit in 2019 due to a provincial government imposed crude production limits, in an effort to deal with price differentials between U.S. and Canadian oil.
“While the Fort Hills mine has faced challenges in the early years of the mine life, including challenges due to government directed production shut ins, I have full confidence in our current mine plan assembled with fresh external mining perspectives,” Suncor’s interim president and CEO Kris Smith said.
The firm has taken several steps in recent months to shed non-core operations, including selling its wind and solar assets in Alberta and Ontario to focus on its oil sands business, as well as its hydrogen and renewable-fuels ventures.
Vale (NYSE: VALE), the world’s largest iron ore and nickel producer, has opened the first phase of a C$945 million ($684m) expansion at its Copper Cliff Complex South Mine in Ontario, Canada.
The project’s initial expansion is expected to nearly double ore production at the Sudbury-based operation, adding about 10,000 tonnes of low-carbon nickel and 13,000 tonnes of copper production per year.
“The materials that we’re mining here in Copper Cliff are nickel and copper and cobalt; absolutely critical minerals if we’re going to achieve that revolution in our economy and it’s happening right here in Sudbury,” said Ontario Mines Minister George Pirie.
More than 12 km of tunnels were developed to link the south and north shafts of the Copper cliff mine.
Construction of the complex created 270 new jobs and spanned more than 5 million people hours moving over 600,000 tonnes of rock, Vale said.
Work comprised rehabilitating the south shaft, expansion for underground ore and waste handling systems and surface loadout and facilities, as well as the construction of new ventilation systems.
“Feasibility studies are currently underway for future development phases of the Copper Cliff Mine Complex, with potential to deliver sustainable and responsibly sourced minerals essential for a low carbon economy well into the future,” Vale said in the statement.
The Brazilian mining giant kicked off the project of injecting new life into the mine in 2017.
Both properties were previously drilled and returned intercepts of potentially economic grades with low observed levels of deleterious elements like arsenic.
“I think this is a very significant initial copper resource estimate that we’ve delivered,” said CEO Steve Stakiw, a geologist who joined the company in April. “The potential to grow this is great. Also, the molybdenum is almost double global average moly grades in copper-porphyry systems and has the potential to enhance the economics of the deposit.”
View eastward across the E29’s Elida Porphyry Cluster. Note the drilling equipment on the left side of the photograph. ELEMENT 29 PHOTO
The initial estimate at Elida, located 250 km north of Lima, outlines 321.7 million inferred tonnes grading 0.32% copper, 0.03% molybdenum and 2.6 g/t silver with a low modeled 0.74:1 strip ratio on the Zone 1 porphyry, one of five porphyry centres on the project. Stakiw said that resource growth potential on Zone 1 remains open.
Element 29 is also initiating its next phase of drilling on the project to test the other porphyry zones at Elida. Stakiw noted that additional metallurgical studies are planned.
A near-surface higher-grade subset of the resource consisting of 34.1 million tonnes inferred at 0.55% copper, 0.037% molybdenum and 4.4 g/t silver at a cut-off grade of 0.45% copper has the potential to be mined with minimal stripping in the initial years of mining at Elida, said Stakiw.
“For me, it’s the ability to take this from an exploration stage project to what I think is a very material copper resource,” he said. “In terms of pounds in the ground we’re at about 2.2 billion contained pounds of copper in just a portion of one of five porphyries.”
E29 is also planning to deliver a resource estimate in late 2022 on the Candelaria zone at Flor de Cobre, which is 250 km northwest of the Chilean border near Arequipa in the Southern Peru Copper Belt.
There is a historical copper resource at Candelaria of 57.4 million tonnes of 0.67% copper that was outlined by Rio Amarillo and Phelps Dodge – now Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) in the 1990s. E29 will be updating that resource with data from a recently completed drill program, said Stakiw.
The Southern Peru Copper Belt is a portion of the Andean magmatic arc that hosts numerous economic copper-gold porphyry and skarn deposits.
The Flor de Cobre project also hosts the large Atravesado porphyry target, supported by coincident outcrop geology, surface geochemistry and geophysical responses. Atravesado is located approximately 2 km northwest of Candelaria and is a 1.5-km by 1.6-km circular zone characterized by outcropping copper oxide mineralization in association with quartz vein stockworks and potassic alteration, said Stakiw.
As a junior that’s moving from early exploration to defined resources at its projects, he notes that this transition usually benefits a company’s stock price.
“You look at the opportunity for the company to get that re-rating out there, because as you transition from an explorer to a company with delineated or proven resources, then you’re moving down the development pathway,” he said. “That’s when you ideally start to get better valuations in the market.”
Both E29 projects are at comparatively low altitudes, making exploration and potential development easier, said Stakiw. Some mines in the region are at 4,500 to 5,000 metres elevation. Also, Elida and Flor de Cobre are close to paved regional highways and other infrastructure in pro-development jurisdictions of Peru, he said.
“There are mines and a skilled workforce around us,” Stakiw said. “So, it checks all those boxes. Both our projects have that luxury. For us, that de-risks the development pathway. It’s one thing exploring and finding stuff, but if it’s at high altitude in a remote area that’s anti-mining we know how that ends.”
E29 is in regular dialogue with adjacent communities, maintaining relationships that are open and transparent, said Stakiw, noting some other Peruvian mining projects can be fraught with challenges.
“There are projects like the Las Bambas mine, which is a big copper operation in Peru, it’s near the Southern Peru Copper Belt, but it’s inland a bit, so you’re getting into the agricultural and tourist areas near Cusco and into those areas where it’s much more challenging. The communities can be tougher to negotiate with as there is increased competition for land use.”
Added scrutiny of mining projects around the world is a good thing, said Stakiw, noting responsible companies have an opportunity to set an example. Taking shortcuts isn’t something he’s interested in.
“We do like Peru,” he said. “Obviously, we are biased because that’s where we operate. It’s a great place to be doing business, especially for a copper explorer, because it’s the number two copper producer in the world and has strong exploration and discovery potential given its metal endowment.”
Out of the world’s top 10 largest copper mines, three or four are in Peru, Stakiw said. Most of the rest, he explained, are in Chile, which is the world’s number one copper producer.
“We are in the same belt and just over 20 km on trend from the large Cerro Verde mine,” he said. “I think that’s the number five copper producer in the world, so we’re in a great neighbourhood.”
The preceding Joint Venture Article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by ELEMENT 29 RESOURCES and produced in co-operation with The Northern Miner. Visit www.e29copper.com for more information.
Hochschild Mining (LSE: HOC; US-OTC: HCHDF) has discovered a new zone to the west of operations at its Pallancata silver-gold mine in southern Peru.
The new area, called Royropata, is not in the current permitted area, but the company believes that the discovery “has the potential to secure the medium-term future of the Pallancata mine.”
Highlights from the discovery include 17.6 metres grading 8.5 g/t gold and 2,520 g/t silver in drill hole DLRY-A10 and 6.5 metres of 6.6 g/t gold and 1,994 g/t silver in DLRY-A11, both in the Marco West Vein.
Hochschild says it plans to announce a preliminary inferred resource for the new discovery “in the next few weeks and will make a decision on the operation’s short-term future in 2023.”
“The brownfield exploration team expects to continue drilling a number of targets within the existing permitted area during the remainder of 2022,” Hochschild said in its Wednesday news release. “Depending on those results and the level of precious metal prices, Hochschild will make a decision on whether to place the mine on care and maintenance in 2023, while the company secures the necessary permits to bring the new discovery into production.”
NGEx Minerals (TSXV: NGEX) closed its previously announced $30 million private placement. The company sold a total of 15 million common shares at a price of $2 per share.
NGEx insiders took up approximately 6.0 million shares. NGEx paid a 5% finder’s fee in cash on a portion of the placement.
Net proceeds of the private placement will be used primarily to fund exploration in Chile and Argentina. The company’s US$3 million credit facility will be repaid, and a portion of the funding will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes.
The company’s portfolio includes the Los Helados porphyry copper-gold project in Chile. At a cut-off of 0.33% copper-equivalent, Helados has an indicated resource of 2.1 million tonnes grading 0.38% copper, 0.15 g/t gold and 1.37 g/t silver plus an inferred portion of 827.0 million tonnes grading 0.32% copper, 0.10 g/t gold, and 1.32 g/t silver. NGEx also have interests in the Valle Ancho copper-gold property in Argentina and the Vicuña property.
Mining is one of the world’s oldest industries, tracing its roots back to those prehistoric days when someone grabbed a digging instrument and began burrowing into the ground. In the many millennia since, mining has grown into one of the world’s most important and widespread commercial enterprises, with operations spread across the globe while tasked with recovering an almost inexhaustible list of valuable commodities.
In fact, according to the World Mining Congress’s World Mining Data 2020 report, 17.7 billion metric tons of mined products were recovered in 2018, up from 11.3 billion metric tons in 2000 and nearly double the 9.6 billion metric tons in 1985. Asian countries accounted for 58 percent of the 2018 production, with North America second at 15.1 percent, followed by Europe (8 percent), Oceania (6.8 percent), Latin America (6.3 percent), and Africa (5.3 percent). Individually, China (23 percent), the United States (12.1 percent), Russia (9.2 percent), and Australia (7.2 percent) were the most prolific producers, with their total 51.1 percent of production more than the rest of the world combined.
This means that the mining industry is a strong one, with solid growth expected to continue in the coming years in many regions of the world. It also means that mining operations will continue to rely on pumping technologies that offer robust, reliable, and safe service in a number of critical liquid-handling operations. This white paper will illustrate why positive displacement air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pumps can be the best choice for many of those applications.
THE CHALLENGE
While mining might appear to be nothing more than a rough-and-tumble operation—holes are dug by heavy machinery or with explosives, opening the hidden ode to access from above—there are, in fact, many complex and sometimes delicate operations that must be performed properly if the mining operation is to perform at its highest level of efficiency.
From a macro standpoint, this requires a pumping technology that can operate reliably in harsh and remote locations, even when submerged, or when tasked with handling particulate-laden liquids or toxic/corrosive products, and also one that is able to be maintained and repaired simply so downtime is lessened. The pumps must also be light enough to be manually moved from location to location within the mine itself.
For many years, a popular choice for use in these conditions was centrifugal pumps. While centrifugal pumps are able to create the high flow rates that are required, they have a number of operational “pain points” that hamper their use in mining applications: an inability to self-prime or run dry; special seals needed to prevent leaks; special linings needed to handle solids; high motor speeds of up to 1,800 rpm; and relatively high maintenance requirements and costs, especially when charged with transferring solid-heavy liquids.
Another popular choice has been the progressive cavity pump, but, like centrifugal pumps, they have a number of operational shortcomings. These include an inability to consistently handle liquids with high levels of abrasives, which leads to increased maintenance costs, wear on expensive stators and rotors that will eventually need to be replaced, and overall higher purchase, operating, and repair/replacement costs.
Here are some of the specific liquid-transfer operations that take place in a mine and the ways that some pump technologies can fall short in satisfying them:
Mine dewatering: Removing excess produced water from the mine is a critical 24/7/365 operation and the water that is recovered is often full of particulates that can be as large as 0.12 to 0.16 inches in size. If used in this application, centrifugal pumps require special materials of construction, which can be cost prohibitive, to protect against impeller wear caused by the abrasive particles. Centrifugal pumps are also not dry-run capable, which adversely affects their level of performance in this application.
General service: For common liquid-handling applications, you need an easy-to-operate pump that reliably can run dry, strip lines, operate at low speeds while still delivering high flow rates, and be easy to maintain and repair. Centrifugal pumps simply do not possess these capabilities.
Corrosive liquids: Much like solid-laden liquids, corrosive ones can wreak havoc on the wetted parts of centrifugal and progressive cavity pumps. This typically demands a need to use special mechanical seals, which can lead to exorbitant maintenance, repair, and replacement costs.
Press filter: Press filters are used to clean the liquids that are produced in the mines and, again, centrifugal pumps can fall short in this application because the solid-laden liquid can damage the pump’s internals unless special, more expensive materials of construction or linings are used. Also, the nature of press-filter operation creates a strong discharge-pressure variation that can force the centrifugal pump to operate away from its best efficiency point (BEP), resulting in high vibration and radial loads that can lead to shortened service life. A solution to this is the incorporation of variable frequency drives (VFDs) and controllers, but these are expensive and can negatively affect the cost-effectiveness of the operation.
Product transfer: This comes in all forms in a mining operation, from loading and unloading from transport trucks with new and used oil for the heavy machinery, fresh and fouled water, and any chemicals that are required. In every instance, there is the risk that the pump will be forced to run dry as the truck or storage vessel is emptied, while discharge-pressure variation can also generate high vibration and radial loads. As previously illustrated, centrifugal pumps cannot run dry, so they need protection from this condition or the addition of special seals. However, all of these upgrades still cannot totally protect against a catastrophic failure.
THE SOLUTION
While centrifugal pumps—despite their popularity—have proven to not be the most effective solution in many liquid-handling applications in mining, one pump technology that has proven to be an optimum choice is AODD—in terms of maximizing reliability, cost-effectiveness, ease of operation and maintenance, and safety for mining personnel and the environment.
AODD pumps are able to perform effectively in mining applications because their method of operation allows them to easily handle variable flow rates and pressures, while being dry-run and line-stripping capable, and nimble enough to transfer liquids that are shear-sensitive or high-viscosity, as well as slurries laden with rocks, pebbles, and other particulates.
The simple design of the AODD pump features few moving parts and comparably lower speeds than other pump technologies, which improves reliability and simplifies maintenance, while the pump’s seal-less construction results in fewer leaks, which is a critical consideration when handling the many hard-to-seal, corrosive, or hazardous liquids that are prevalent in a mining operation. AODD pumps are available in both metal (most commonly aluminum, ductile iron and cast iron) and plastic (polypropylene and PVDF) housing constructions, while a wide array of elastomers can be used in the diaphragms, which eliminates many chemical-compatibility concerns.
A wide variety of AODD pump configurations provide operational flexibility that can also result in optimized performance at many levels. The ability to feature AODD pumps in a wide range of applications, from basic general use to delicate chemical-handling processes, allows operators to more cost-effectively outfit their mines. AODD pumps can also be less costly to operate, especially those models that are outfitted with a next-generation mechanically actuated air distribution system (ADS). At their most basic, AODD pumps excel in the typical rugged and harsh operating conditions found in the world’s mines, which reduces breakdown incidents along with corresponding downtime and repair costs.
Specifically, Wilden, whose founder, Jim Wilden, conceived the AODD pumping principle sixty-five years ago, has been dedicated to developing technologies that meet the needs of mining operations. Today, Wilden offers three AODD pump models that are built to excel in mining applications, available in ductile iron, cast iron, aluminum, polypropylene and Kynar materials of construction:
Brahma® Series: The Brahma pumps, which feature a bolted configuration, have been built for use in applications that require the handling of liquids featuring large solids. The Brahma pumps have a unique top-inlet/bottom-discharge flow orientation and flap valves that allow the passage of large solids with no risk that damage will occur as a result of product entrapment or the settling of solids within the pump’s internal flow paths. Brahma pumps are available in two models—PS810 (2-inch) and PS1510 (3-inch)—that are outfitted with the revolutionary Pro-Flo® SHIFT ADS, which has been designed to reduce air consumption by up to 60 percent. The T810 and T1510 models are powered by the Turbo-Flo™ ADS, the industry’s first air motor for AODD pumps. The flow-rate range for the four Brahma pumps is 166 to 258 gallons per minute at pressures up to 125 psi with solids-handling capability ranging from 2 to 3 inches.
Stallion® Series: The Stallion pumps feature a clamped design with carrying handles for lightweight portability. Their design features large internal clearances and flow-through paths for easy passage of large solids with no chance for clogging. An altered ball/seat check-valve assembly further enables solids passage, while a polyurethane screen base at the inlet increases the pump’s durability. The PS4, PS8, and PS15 (1.5-, 2-, and 3-inch) models are powered by a Pro-Flo SHIFT ADS, with the T4, T8, and T15 (1.5-, 2-, and 3-inch) pumps featuring the Turbo-Flo ADS, Wilden’s most robust ADS design for the toughest environments. Flow rates amongst the six models range from 57 gallons per minute to 232 gallons per minute at working pressures up to 125 psi. Solids sizes that can be handled range from 1/2 to 1 inch.
Pro-Flo SHIFT Series: Pro-Flo SHIFT pumps feature clamped or bolted configuration. Their design features different chamber materials, including metal and plastics, even Kynar, which is capable of handling high levels of abrasive materials. The Pro-Flo SHIFT is also the most efficient AODD pump in the market, capable of reducing up to 60 percent air consumption. This makes it the best option for handling corrosive and abrasive products in mining processes. The pumps have a product range that goes from 1.5 to 3 inches and flows from 2 to 271 gallons per minute.
All of the Brahma, Stallion, and Pro-Flo SHIFT pumps are able to be outfitted with a wide array of diaphragm styles—including the newer Chem-Fuse, EZ-Install, and Reduced-Stroke models—in a varying array of materials, such as Wil-Flex™ (Santoprene®), Geolast®, Polyurethane, Buna-N®, EPDM, Neoprene, FKM, and PTFE. This diaphragm range gives users the widest selection of diaphragms on the market, all of which are capable of providing extended mean time between failure (MTBF) for optimized uptime with reduced maintenance, repair, and replacement costs.
All of these capabilities make AODD pumps the ideal choice for the aforementioned common liquid-handling applications in mining: dewatering, general service, corrosive-handling, filter press, and daily product transfer.
CONCLUSION
In summary, Wilden AODD pumps are the best option for mining applications because they offer considerable operational advantages, like comparable low-speed operation, dry-run, line-stripping, self-priming, and deadhead capability, along with increased operational safety and a reduction in maintenance/repair costs that can be incurred by pumps that are not designed to handle abrasive/corrosive or solid-laden liquids.
Wilden AODD pumps also outperform other AODD technologies in other significant ways: simple design with the lowest number of parts for faster, simpler, and safer repairs and the lowest number of spare parts to stock; recent improvements in materials of construction that increase the pump’s MTBF; and improved efficiency through the use of the Pro-Flo SHIFT ADS, which ultimately results in faster product transfer with lower air consumption. Wilden also continues to innovate through the development of the next-generation Chem-Fuse and EZ-Install diaphragms, both of which increase service life and safety while not compromising the handling of challenging liquids.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Fernando Meneses is the regional manager North Latin America for Wilden, a leading manufacturer of air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) pumps. He can be reached at fernando.meneses@psgdover.com. Wilden is a product brand of PSG®, a Dover company. PSG is comprised of several leading pump companies, including Abaque®, All-Flo™, Almatec®, Blackmer®, Ebsray, em-tec®, Griswold®, Hydro™, Mouvex®, Neptune®, Quantex™, Quattroflow®, RedScrew™, and Wilden®. For more information, visit www.wildenpump.com or www.psgdover.com.
ANDRITZ will be presenting its range of separation technologies and services for powder and bulk solids and its automation solutions at the POWTECH fair in Nuremberg from 9-11 April.
One of the company’s latest technologies is its pneumatic discharge system for Krauss-Maffei peeler centrifuges, which eliminates the need for gravity discharge. Krauss-Maffei peeler centrifuges are batch-operated filtration centrifuges that are known for reliable performance at high capacities.
With the pneumatic discharge solution, a peeled product is transported out of the centrifuge, immediately removing product particles and dust. The company says this results in increased yield with a high filtration performance, a decrease in product losses, and minimal maintenance. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore a full-size PUREVO pharma peeler centrifuge fitted with this new pneumatic discharge system and learn about its benefits when applied in bulk chemicals, fine chemicals, and many other applications.
Andritz will also showcase its Metris addIQ control system, whichenables customers to analyse and optimise industrial production processes. In addition, visitors can find out about Industry 4.0 solutions for food production and hear about an intelligent filter press in a presentation by an Andritz specialist.
Weir Minerals has launched the latest edition in its range of Warman centrifugal pumps, the DWU dewatering pump, to the European market.
The pump is designed to deliver increased efficiency where water needs to be lifted over greater heights – a common requirement in both open and underground mines – and the unit delivers efficient operation at heads of up to 140 m.
Four different sizes are available, with outlet diameters of 75 mm, 125 mm, 150 mm and 200 mm and around 50% of the parts used in the new design are interchangeable with Weir Minerals’ popular slurry pump, the Warman WBH, to help clients simplify spare parts ordering and holding.
Weir Minerals’ engineers have designed a new, double-volute casing which reduces radial load and is capable of maintaining internal pressures of up to 7,000 kPa, allowing the pumps to be configured in series to deliver even greater head heights.
Steve Sedgwick, the Weir Minerals Europe product manager for mine dewatering, said: “The dewatering system is a crucial part of almost every mining operation around the globe, and we’re committed to ensuring that our range of dewatering pumps is broad enough to deliver optimum efficiency, whatever the requirements.
