Reacting promptly to customer calls for dewatering solutions is what has set Integrated Pump Rental apart, especially in the mining sector. The company recently responded to an urgent need for a dewatering pump at an East African mine.

“If not dealt with promptly, flooding in a mine environment will not only impede productivity but in some cases, lead to unsafe working conditions,” managing director of Integrated Pump Rental, Lee Vine explains. “All of this will result in consequential losses which is why we understand the need to respond quickly to customer calls for dewatering solutions.”

In this recent example, a mine in an East African country reached out to this leading dewatering pump solution supplier. Unseasonably high rainfall had caused major flooding and the mine’s traditional suppliers had quoted long lead times to get equipment to the site. This obviously posed a major risk for the mine.

Vine explains that one of the company diesel driven Skykes pump sets had just completed its contract on a diamond mine in Lesotho and was en route back to the company’s facility in Johannesburg.

“The unit only had 160 hours on it and we immediately did a full assessment of the pump, serviced it and tested it on our in-house test rig to ensure that it would provide the performance and reliability required for its new task,” he says.

“What is most significant is that within one week of receiving the call from the mine, we were able to get the pump set ready, across border and installed on site dealing with the dewatering challenge,” Vine says.

The pump set comprises a Sykes XH150 high head diesel driven pump which is capable of a flow rate of 100 litres per second at a total dynamic head of 150 metres in this application. The skid mounted solution will more than capably deal with the dewatering application at the mine, and the customer made the decision to purchase the unit as opposed to renting it.