Advantages of pump rental for quarries and mines
Renting dewatering pumps allows quarries and mines with constrained capital expenditure to access the latest pump technology to meet critical dewatering needs, without a large once-off financial investment.
Dewatering pumps are an essential part of the quarrying and openpit mining sector and, given the cyclic nature of the industry, renting dewatering pumps enables flexibility and scalability.
Integrated Pump Rental (IPR) is part of the specialty rental division within the Atlas Copco Power Technique business area and MD Lee Vine says that one of the biggest benefits of pump rental is that it allows mines and quarries to sidestep the need for hefty upfront capital investments.
“Instead of having to make large-ticket purchases via a capital expense on their accounting books, rental allows them to categorise the expense as operating costs that do not necessarily impact the company’s capital expenditures. As a result, mines can allocate the capital to other pressing matters of the business, while having peace of mind that their dewatering needs are catered for,” notes Vine.
Given that pumping requirements can vary in scope and duration, pump rental allows operations to match the right pump to the specific task at hand, says IPR sales manager Steve du Toit.
“In addition, rental provides mines and quarries with access to the very latest pumping technology,” says Du Toit. “This is particularly beneficial, especially in an environment where technology is advancing at a rapid pace. IPR offers the latest dewatering technology, which means customers have access to efficient, safe and productive equipment without having to break the bank.”
Another benefit to renting is that it allows operations to test equipment before committing to a purchase.
Du Toit adds that IPR conducts in-house repairs and servicing on all its rented equipment, ensuring reliability and performance.
“We perform regular maintenance on our rented equipment, which minimises downtime and ensures operational efficiency. Our 24/7 technical support through our experienced field service personnel means that we can attend to any breakdowns in a timely manner, reducing downtime for customers. Most of our pumps have 250 hour service intervals, which means that we are constantly on customer sites to ensure that equipment runs optimally all the time,” concludes Vine.