In the mining industry, production is directly related to the plant’s total pumping capacity, and reclaim systems are the main source of water. With the pressure on to improve processes, PetarOstojic discusses how pump manufacturers can help mining companies re-power their reclaim water systems with custom engineering solutions, improving pump capacity and reducing energy consumption.
In recent years, good copper prices have motivated the world’s biggest mining companies to improve processes, increasing production with the shortest payback period and minimum operational intervention. Re-powering reclaim water pumping systems represents a huge oppor-tunity for pump companies to incorporateengineering consulting to their service portfolio, providing fast and custom engineered solutions to their clients, so optimizing efficiency and reliability.
The pumping system
Los Pelambres Mining Company, based in Chile, has one of the ten largest copper deposits in the world. In 2011 the company ordered several studies, searching for areas of improvement in their processes. One study showed that its reclaim water system represented a good opportunity to improve pumping capacity and reduce electricity consumption…
