When it comes to mining pump and compressor applications, there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
Pump and compressor systems are a vast and complex field of expertise for industrial solutions providers. There are an infinite number of possible pump and compressor configurations and component assemblies, which is why it’s common for a manufacturer to solely specialise in pump applications.
Excluding pumps that are part of equipment, such as hydraulic and oil pumps in the grand scheme of things, there are typically two types of pumps for the mining sector. The first is for water, the second is for slurry, according to Marcelo Falcao, Application Engineering Manager – Bearings at Motion Australia.
“Water pumps are for the dewatering systems, to assure dry working conditions in the mine operation and to avoid flooding. There are also firefighting pumps on site, and of course the care with reliability on these applications is enormous. Depending on the mine, the firefighting pumps may be on mobile trucks, or in the plants where the product is processed,” Falcao said.
“The second type of pump carries slurry. Slurry is a mixture of solids suspended in water that transport soil containing raw materials to the mineral separators and the waste after processing the materials. As you can easily imagine, slurry can be quite abrasive, so the pumps are coated with rubber in most cases.”
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