Mining technology company Weir Minerals says that its GEHO positive displacement (PD) pumps help reduce energy and water consumption and improve mines’ sustainability performance. 

The pump range is used in various pumping applications including tailings, backfill, ore transportation and dewatering and can also be used to pump highly viscous slurry, allowing mines to conserve water. Weir Minerals global product manager GEHO PD pumps Erik Vlot notes that the energy efficiency of pipeline transportation also helps cut energy costs and reduces mines’ carbon footprints.

“The foundation of GEHO pumps’ success is our ongoing attention to technical innovation and improvement,” says Vlot. “This also allowed us to be pioneers in the pumping of very acidic material at high temperatures, such as nickel slurry at more than 200 °C at a mine in Madagascar.”

With their high capacity, GEHO pumps are used to transport bauxite or iron-ore over hundreds of kilometres, offering a cost-effective and sustainable transfer method for the mining industry. The pumps are also employed in backfilling – a method for mines to ensure safety and environment protection.

The pumps range is also used for dewatering from great depths, such as in deep mines. Instead of using multiple smaller pumps to transfer water to the surface, the GEHO pump can pump from the bottom of a mine to the surface in just one lift – even over kilometres.

“Apart from the cost effectiveness of this solution, an important advantage is that it reduces the risk of one pump in a pumping chain failing, and disrupting the entire dewatering function,” says Vlot. “It also reduces the cost and maintenance requirements of having multiple pumping stations at different levels within the mine.”

“Taking into account how our pumps interact with these systems, we focus on key aspects of the pumps such as the diaphragm and propelling liquid system,” he explains. The propelling liquid provides the barrier between the piston and the diaphragm to ensure that all the moving parts move in oil and not slurry.

Vlot emphasises the importance of diaphragm dynamics and the need to control the volume of propelling liquid in the chamber. This is done through the programmable logic controller (PLC), to ensure that the diaphragm runs in the right position.

“Rubber is good at bending, but if it stretches it can tear,” he says. “Our aim is to extend the replacement intervals between diaphragm replacements, helping mines to reduce both their downtime and their total cost of ownership.”

Operation of the pumps is monitored through digital technology, giving real time data on a pump’s performance and condition. Weir Minerals adds that it also offers customer support through its global service network and local service technicians.