Today, mining companies are more focused on sustainability than ever before, seeking to protect the land and environment in which they operate and in small companies driving innovation in mining pump design.
Atlantic Pumps CEO Andy Smith says water conservation, reducing the mine’s impact on the environment and much higher energy costs are driving innovative developments for pump original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
“The realization that water is a precious resource is still a relatively new concept and requires further education,” says Smith, who runs a UK-based manufacturer and supplier of electric and diesel wastewater and slurry pumps.
“However, mine operators now have to work with this in mind, making dewatering and any process using water a very different economic model.”
This increased awareness is helping to drive innovation in both products and processes, Smith believes. as a result.
Among other key drivers of mining pump innovation highlighted by Smith, the rising energy costs faced by mining, one of the world’s most energy-intensive industries, appear to be “here to stay.”
In his view, this means that efficiency is of utmost importance in the design and development of modern pumps.
“Pump features are largely driven by the best fit at start-up, while live-time performance is now recognized as the most important driver,” says Smith.
Since energy accounts for 10% to 40% of mine operating costs, consumption reduction not only applies to mines reducing their carbon emissions, but can also play a significant role in reducing operating costs.
While the largest contributors to mining energy consumption come from exploration and production, such as drilling and drilling equipment, and materials handling, today’s pumps have a significant and growing role to play.
Pumps are used from mine dewatering to concentrators and beyond, but Smith is confident that, regardless of where they are installed, mining pumps are a continuing focus of innovation the fields are: efficiency, such as their energy requirements; and machine learning for improved service support.
Erkki Kohtanen, Vice President of Industrial Minerals Sales and Mining at KSB Mining, believes he will shape the mining pumps of tomorrow.
“With few personnel in the field and limited time, it is critical that pumps require minimal maintenance,” he asserts. “Pumps achieve optimal performance when properly maintained, so operators need effective solutions for effective maintenance and monitoring.”
This, while still a relatively new concept in the pump design and support offerings available to miners, is an area that many pump OEMs are quickly embracing, says Quinton Sutherland, Weir’s senior pump product manager Like many industries, digital technologies play an increasingly important role.
Digital twins play a key role in increasing overall equipment efficiency.Shown here is Weir’s WARMAN® MCR® 650 pump, which uses NEXT smart solutions
“It’s a different path for Weir [we] can support clients’ efforts to improve the efficiency of their operations,” he says.
The company’s NEXT Intelligent Solutions has an AI-powered smart assistant that Sutherland says helps miners overcome process optimization challenges.
“This allows Weir to take a comprehensive approach where, rather than focusing on the performance of individual pieces of equipment, it analyzes the performance of the entire circuit.”
Sutherland adds that as a result, miners can quickly adapt to variables such as changes in food or plant decay, for example, in real-time to ensure optimal efficiency and sustainable production.
“The next big step will be smart pumps,” says Kohtanen.
“KSB GIW has developed a dedicated IoT [Internet of Things] solution, GIW SLYsight, which can measure critical pump dimensions and indicate to the customer the need for pump adjustment and expected run time remaining on wet ends, etc.”
Combined with GIW RAMSL or remote suction equipment, the pumps can be fine-tuned during operation to “ensure the most efficient, reliable and serviceable pumping solutions” for cyclone feed or any large hydraulic pumps, he adds.
IoT-based solutions such as KSB GIW’s SLYsight and RAMSL can be used to adjust pumps during operation.Credit: KSB GIW
“KSB GIW offers IoT technologies that allow operators to safely make pump adjustments and determine service cycles using the latest material technology to increase pump durability in a variety of applications,” continues Kohtanen.
As Kohtanen points out, mining pumps come in a vast and growing array of iterations, each with their own specific requirements and goals, but the basic design principles remain: efficient, effective and durable.
The materials pumps are built to address, and their ability to operate in some of the harshest environments is critical to their operational life cycle. As a result, he says, the continuous development of wear materials “never stops.”
A further factor, which is again of increasing importance, is the need for compliance. “Water discharge legislation is also evolving rapidly,” says Smith of Atlantic Pumps.
“This represents a huge risk for companies in an area they may have historically turned a blind eye to. Therefore, the technology around monitoring and reporting is evolving rapidly.”
A major contributor to this growing need has been the increasing depth of the underground mines are seeking more and higher grade ore deposits. But with that comes the risk of finding minerals and contaminants in the water. This requires ongoing treatment before discharge.
Kohtanen says that even now, as technology advances, the challenge with the amount of solids in drainage water remains; This is a challenge that continues to drive OEM innovation as their mining customers increasingly seek dewatering systems that are reliable, require minimal processes and help the site remain productive.
However, Kohtanen cautions that there is no one size fits all. “Obviously, there are always trade-offs that ultimately determine which pumping arrangement will provide the best long-term efficiency, reliability, and least maintenance for the drainage system.”
Innovation in mine dewatering systems is a major focus for pump OEMs. Pictured here is the EnviroHub Lamella tank, the treatment tank and the rectifier tank. Credit: Atlantic Pumps.
This is where Smith and Atlantic Pumps is most proud of its offering. It says its EnviroHub unit has a direct impact on the environment. Designed specifically for quarrying and construction, the system monitors and detects any unsafe water and cleaning it before disposal. It also provides comprehensive data and reports to help sites ensure they comply with local regulations and provides documented evidence of steps taken.
Recognizing that this is a growth area, Smith says the company will continue to focus on the monitoring space given the benefits it offers and as operators become more comfortable using electronic controls to improve results.
As mining operations evolve to address the growing demand for materials in the future, so do pump OEMs and their product catalogs.
Highlighting the drivers identified by KSB, Atlantic Pumps and Weir; to enable their customers to continue to produce the minerals that will be required for the energy transition.”
Smith echoes Kohtanen’s view that increasingly customers are looking for more customized offerings rather than off-the-shelf solutions; but, he says, this is something that has the potential to prove more difficult as the need to be financially prudent continues to dominate decision-making.
“One of the biggest challenges in the mining industry right now is fundraising,” he warns. Pointing to a “more risk-averse trading environment,” Smith says helping companies cost-effectively test processes to “prove to their financial partners that this is a sound investment” is important to OEMs. for
“For pumps, this means the ability to support technologies at different scales.”
“Mining Pumps Lead Water Management Innovation” was originally created and published Mining technologyTrademark owned by GlobalData.
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