Considerations of reliability, high levels of support and ease of maintenance are key when selecting mill pumps for mining operations, says Weir WARMAN pump products GM Marnus Koorts.

The performance of mill pumps, which are critical in mineral processing circuits, directly impact a plant’s productivity and uptime.

“A mill pump is a mission-critical item of equipment, so maintenance really needs to be as fast and infrequent as possible. The whole plant process often comes to a halt when the mill stops if there is no standby pump,” he comments.

Many plants, however, no longer have standby pumps owing to the high costs, he points out, emphasising reliability in these situations.

Traditionally, as the mill pump is an important part of a plant, best practice and risk reduction practice would be to have a standby pump in the event one requires downtime for maintenance or repair.

However, increasing pressure on capital, especially on greenfield projects, means that many operations do not have the flexible cash to ensure this safeguard.

“There is so much more that goes with having just one extra pump,” Koorts says, highlighting the ecosystem surrounding the pump, which includes gearboxes, motors and required civil infrastructure, leaving many operations opting to forgo installing a standby pump.

This increases the importance of choosing a reliable, robust pump supplier.

To further support reliability and limit downtime risks, Weir offers packaged support solutions and an innovative maintenance process, while partnering extensively with customers to enhance the reliability and longevity of their mill pumps.

“We have engineered the WARMAN pumps to be as easy to maintain as possible.”

This includes innovations such as, for example, a removable suction cover in the cover plate, enabling the removal of the inner plate to easily access the impeller on the inside for maintenance.

This is one of the highest wearing components, and the quick change-out design eliminates the need to remove the entire cover. This also allows for quick changeout of the throatbush, which is an added benefit of this innovation.

Ease and speed of maintenance, along with a suite of products that enables upgrades and adaptations during the lifetime of the operations, forms a significant part of Weir’s offerings, as customers need the pumps to be fit for purpose as long as the life-of-mine.

“A mill circuit pump is not an off-the-shelf solution. Mill circuit pumps are engineered to provide optimum performance under the arduous operating conditions on individual customer sites and need to be configured to achieve the requisite hours between scheduled maintenance shutdowns,” he continues.

“Close collaboration with customers and a comprehensive understanding of the plant’s operating parameters are crucial to ensure the solution provided will meet the operational requirements,” he says.

The company tailors solutions to clients, providing a wealth of knowledge on what works and what does not, and many of its designs allow for interchangeability between metal and rubber components based on specific wear characteristics and material type to ensure WARMAN pumps are optimally maintained and aligned with specific site requirements.

Rubber liners have shown to extend wear life in many applications, handle impact associated with large particles and are more cost effective and easier to handle. However, when applications demand it, a wide range of metal options are also available.

“We understand the entire value chain, and we take ownership of that, delivering integrated solutions,” Koorts comments, explaining that, as an original equipment manufacturer with a large global footprint of mill pumps, Weir boasts expert engineering teams that provide customers with tailored technical support.

“To put it in perspective, we build hundreds of pumps a month across the continent and refurbish many more,” he says, noting the vast experience of the company.

Further, with a network of branches across Africa, never more than 200 kms from a customer, and in-house specialists in every team and operation, Weir ensures rapid access to essential wear parts and expertise, minimising downtime risks for customers.

Further, continuous investment in research and development (R&D) keeps Weir at the forefront of pump technology, offering advanced solutions that reduce operational risks.

“Almost 2% of the company’s global total revenue is spent on R&D. It is not just to make the parts last longer, but also to drive efficiency. Our pumps are the most efficient pumps in their class globally.”

In addition, a significant portion of this investment has been allocated to the development of numerous technologies specifically for WARMAN pumps.

From the more cost-effective, lighter and easier-to-work-with rubber linings, a double thickness throatbush design and various lubrication innovations, through to continuous upgrades of hydraulics, Weir spends much time and energy on R&D to optimise products and solutions.

“We continually find new ways to make our WARMAN pumps more efficient, more robust and last longer.”

“It is important that the customers make the right decisions. They need reliability and partner with us for our ability to minimise their risk,” Koorts concludes.