Integrated Pump Rental recently delivered its largest pump ever to a customer in the mining sector. Driven by a Kirloskar DV8 engine, the auto-prime Sykes MH300 pump with stainless steel pump end was built at the company’s Jet Park facility in the east of Johannesburg.

“The sheer scale of the project is demonstrated by the unit’s final dry weight of about 8 t,” says Integrated Pump Rental rental development manager Steve du Toit. “Measuring nearly seven metres long, this pump set is 2.5 m wide and two metres high.”

The unit’s ability to pump 500 litres per second at a head of 40 m, means that it can empty an Olympic-sized swimming pool containing 2.5 million litres, in just 1.3 hours.

The pump will be used to dewater an open pit to minimise the risk of flooding during the rainy season. The presence of abrasive particles in the water required that the inside of the pump be coated with tungsten, while the stainless steel wet end is designed to resist acidity.

The Sykes MH300 is the top of Sykes’ medium-head range, with a 300 mm, or 12-inch, suction or discharge. This compares with the 6-inch suction of the well-known Sykes CP150 model popular among contractors. A 3 000 litre fuel tank was included in the design to allow for long running time, and to reduce the need for monitoring and refilling.

“The pump was built for plug-and-play on site, with an auto-prime function for added ease of use,” Du Toit says. “Supplied with the necessary pipework, it can be easily connected and immediately operated.”