Improving Performance of Minera Collahuasi’s Water Pumping System
Collahuasi Mining Co., located in Chile at 4.500 meters above sea level, has one of the most aggressive waters in the world, reaching 50.000 (mg/l) of chloride concentration. Neptuno Pumps performed a complete redesign of its pumps through a complete CFD/FEA analysis together with a full material upgrade, incorporating superior alloys and advanced engineered thermoplastics which improved pump operational availability in a 600%, reaching 18.000 hours of continuous operation, allowing savings of US$650,000 per year.