In an environment where capital is not always available, renting dewatering pumps from IPR (Integrated Pump Rental) allows cash-strapped quarries and mines to save money, access the newest technology and benefit from the unmatched flexibility and scalability.

Due to their ability to ensure efficient water management, dewatering pumps are an essential part of the quarrying and open pit mining value chain. Given the cyclic nature of the industry, renting dewatering pumps enables operations to weather economic storms, especially during bust periods.

IPR is part of the Specialty Rental division within the Power Technique Business Area of Atlas Copco, and Managing Director 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.”

Steve du Toit, Sales Manager at IPR, says rental also provides unmatched flexibility and scalability. 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.

“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 great benefit to renting is that it affords quarries and mines the chance to put the dewatering pump technology through its paces before committing to a purchase. Observations from the ‘trial’ period therefore offer insights into whether or not a piece of equipment is worth buying.

Investing in dewatering pumps can be a costly exercise, especially for many small to medium-sized operations, and most businesses don’t realise that this is a long term investment as it requires services and maintenance.

“Operations that rent their dewatering pumps from trusted suppliers such as IPR can be confident that their equipment is always dependable and operates at peak performance because all repairs and servicing are done in-house by IPR’s expert technicians,” says Du Toit.

“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.