As mentioned in another article, Whorouly Quarry’s geology is unusual for a quarry. It is positioned on a parcel of flat agricultural land in the Rural City of Wangaratta. As Trevor Gilbert, the regional manager for Mawsons’ quarry division remarked, it’s a challenge for Mawsons at certain times of the year to separate the fines and decorative stone it produces from the heavy moisture content of the sand and aggregate it extracts.
As Gilbert in the earlier interview explained, his operation prefers to wait until the summer months (from November to April) to dig the gravel and sand dry because the river level recedes and the ground water across the region declines.
To siphon water at Whorouly requires some heavy-duty plant and equipment. To that end, Mawsons commissioned local supplier Toolkwip Pumps to install pumps and related pipework at the Whorouly site.
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Pump applications
Toolkwip Pumps is a family-owned and operated business, based in Knoxfield, Victoria, that has been supplying and servicing pumps for the quarrying, mining and civil construction sectors since 1993.
It is responsible for the importation and national distribution of a range of branded products, including Flo-Kwip, Flojet, Selwood, Sethco and Totton. Toolkwip also designs and manufactures its own pumps and also provides aftermarket service and spare parts.
Jim Garrett, who is Toolkwip’s senior sales executive and a part owner of the company, cited Flo-Kwip pumps as some of the most innovative, cost-effective offerings in the extractive industry. “Flo-Kwip pumps stand out for two simple reasons,” he said. “One, they are specifically designed and engineered for quarrying and mining applications, and two, they are of superior quality. Our AR series of submersible pumps are manufactured in Germany and our auto-prime pump ends are manufactured in the USA and the UK.”
All the pumps installed at Whorouly Quarry are from the Flo-Kwip range. Garrett said this includes the main plant supply pump that is an electric-drive auto-prime pump set. The unit is mounted on a galvanised steel skid, with canopy and centre-lift point provided.
The extraction pump is a 26.5kW Flo-Kwip AR series submersible pump mounted on a pontoon. “These pumps are ideally suited to this application, having rubber wear plates and a hardened impeller, making them very abrasion-resistant,” Garrett elaborated.
Garrett said that Toolkwip had worked closely with Mawsons at the Whorouly site for several years, assisting with the specifications, design, supply and installation of the operation’s pumps and related pipework. He added that the auto-prime and submersible pumps were selected to best suit each individual application, both for longevity and efficiency.
Garrett added that Toolkwip can customise pumps and pipework to suit various quarrying applications. “Every quarry has its own unique requirements and different site conditions. As a result, we specialise in designing and supplying pump packages to best suit the individual requirements of each site.”
Therefore, the geology and proximity of the water table at the Whorouly site did not unduly faze the Toolkwip team when installation commenced. “The main point was to ensure that the equipment would not have any negative impact on the environment,” Garrett explained, “such as using electric pumps where possible and when it was necessary to use diesel-powered pumps, they had to be 110 per cent bunded.”
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Ongoing presence
Toolkwip offers aftermarket service and maintenance for its customers, either via the company’s Knoxfield premises or fully equipped on-site service vehicles. A typical service interval for a diesel-powered pump set is between 250 and 500 hours, depending on the model. Garrett is a regular visitor to the Whorouly site and Toolkwip plant and equipment – whether it be auto-prime, trailer- mounted or pontoon-mounted pumps – has become commonplace at the quarry.
Most importantly, Mawsons has been pleased with Toolkwip’s work to date. “We have had very positive feedback from Mawsons, they are pleased with the efficiency and performance of the pumps,” Garrett said.
Garrett’s advice for quarry operators that are reviewing their current acquisitions and seeking to improve their pump inventory is to “speak to a pump specialist with experience in quarry pumping applications. Quarry applications can be very demanding and standard ‘off the shelf’ pumps are often responsible for a lot of headaches and downtime in quarries,” he cautioned.
“We would, of course,” he half-quipped, “recommend that they speak to Toolkwip, as we have pump specialists that have many years’ experience with pumping applications in quarries. Above and beyond that, we also offer full repair and maintenance services to keep you pumping 24/7!”