Pumps solutions supplier Integrated Pump Rental has continued as a secondary emergency supplier throughout the lockdown, including helping to dewater a coal mine in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The failure of one of the mine’s pumps under lockdown restrictions, which prevented pump repairs, was aggravated by heavy downpours The customer urgently needed fit-for-purpose dewatering equipment to prevent flooding in the openpit, says pump solutions specialists Integrated Pump Rental operations manager Henru Strydom.

The solution was a Sykes HH130 high-head diesel-driven pump. The rugged, 5 t unit was promptly delivered to site by truck, and transferred to an on-site trailer for easy mobility. The six-inch pump is capable of pumping at a head of over 140 m high at a flow of between 80 ℓ/s to 90 ℓ/s.

“From our experience of the mining sector, we know that water in a coal mine is acidic,” Strydom says, adding that, consequently, the complete pump-end supplied was of stainless steel construction to ensure corrosion resistance, reliability and uptime.

Rainfall across much of the coal-producing province of Mpumalanga raised the risk of flooding and led to Integrated Pump Rental delivering solutions to several of its customers during the lockdown.

Strydom emphasises that, in addition to maintaining their vital dewatering activities, mines gain other benefits from renting pumps. There is no large capital outlay, for instance, and running costs can be controlled.

“The renting option means that we handle the maintenance, so that mines can better control their costs,” he says. “We also ensure the pump’s optimal performance, so that mines do not risk costly downtime.”