Slurry services are one of the harshest environments for rotating equipment in mining. Abrasive solids, corrosive process fluids and demanding duty cycles quickly erode seal faces and shorten mean time between repair (MTBR), says mechanical seals and support systems supplier John Crane.

“Each unplanned failure can stop production, require expensive replacement parts and create safety risks if hazardous process fluids escape. Excessive seal flush water also adds cost and can dilute process streams, reducing recovery efficiency and increasing tailings volumes, making seal selection a critical lever for operational and sustainability performance.”

Seal Face Technology Matters
Seal face design is a major factor in uptime, efficiency and lifecycle cost. Traditional seal faces can wear unevenly in abrasive slurry service, causing leakage and premature failure. Over time, this leads to frequent interventions that consume spare parts, labour and water.

Key benefits of advanced face treatments include improved hardness, with surfaces resisting abrasive wear and maintaining integrity under heavy solids loading. This is in addition to lower friction – less heat is generated, stabilising the fluid film and preventing face distortion – better heat transfer – extending seal life and keeping pumps running efficiently – as well as reduced maintenance workload, owing to longer MTBR enabling fewer interventions and lower total cost of ownership.

Diamond Coating Delivers Measurable Impact
Among the most significant innovations is the use of diamond-like carbon coatings. These coatings combine extreme hardness with low friction, creating a face that resists abrasive wear and runs cooler. The benefits extend beyond reliability, says John Crane, explaining that lower friction reduces the power required to drive the pump, directly translating into energy savings and lower CO₂ emissions.

“For slurry pumps, diamond-coated faces can dramatically extend MTBR, allowing operators to move from reactive maintenance to planned service intervals. Fewer interventions mean reduced exposure to hazardous environments and lower water use for seal flush. Diamond coating often enables operators to use less or no external flush water, helping to meet water-stewardship targets and improving overall plant sustainability,” elaborates John Crane.

Supporting ESG Goals
Seal face technology can directly influence ESG performance, with the benefits including water conservation, as reduced flush requirements cut water intake and discharge volumes, as well as lower energy intensity, with improved efficiency reducing pump power consumption.

Other benefits are lower Scope 2 emissions – energy savings translate into measurable CO2 _{reductions – safer maintenance practices – fewer interventions mean less exposure to hazardous process fluids – and waste reduction, as longer seal life reduces the volume of scrapped components.}

“Across a mine site, these gains contribute to annual reductions in operating cost and environmental impact, strengthening a company’s licence to operate and its stakeholder reputation,” explains John Crane.

A Strategic Maintenance Lever
Reliability engineers increasingly view seal selection as part of a broader asset- management strategy, highlights the company.

Extending seal life reduces maintenance workload, frees up skilled personnel for higher value tasks and improves uptime across the processing plant. The business case is clear: fewer failures mean fewer disruptions to production, less emergency spending on spares and greater predictability in maintenance planning.

Mines can capture operational and sustainable gains by integrating advanced face technology into slurry pumps. This approach aligns maintenance decisions with the organisation’s long-term commitments to safe, responsible production, adds John Crane.

Driving Sustainable Performance
As African mining operations navigate the dual pressures of productivity and sustainability, they must seek solutions that deliver measurable results.

“Advanced seal face technologies – particularly diamond-coated solutions – offer a proven path to longer seal life, reduced water consumption, lower energy use and safer maintenance practices.

“For mines looking to capture these benefits, John Crane’s diamond seal face technology is engineered for the most demanding slurry services. It combines extreme hardness and low friction to extend MTBR, improve water stewardship and help operators meet ESG targets,” advances John Crane.

By integrating this technology into slurry pump seals, the company believes mines can reduce costs, improve uptime and make measurable progress toward their sustainability goals.