GIW Industries, a leader in the design, manufacture and application of heavy duty, centrifugal slurry pumps, has reported that one of its newest designs has helped improve efficiencies at the Kinross-owned Fort Knox gold mine in Fairbanks, Alaska. The installation of a GIW MDX slurry pump nearly doubled the wear life of the pump wet ends and cut maintenance downtime in half, according to GIW.Located within the Fairbanks mining district – one of the largest gold-producing areas in Alaska – the Kinross mine at Fort Knox operates year round, processing high-grade ore at a daily capacity of 45,000 t / d. As a result, the Fort Knox mill requires its pumps to be up and running reliably. However, maintenance required on its previous slurry pumps meant stopping a portion of the production process for up to half a shift.
GIW states that its MDX slurry pumps have two critical improvements that extend the service life of the pump. The first is a lower specific speed design, where a large-diameter impeller allows for slower pump operation that extends wet-end parts wear life, even under variable flow conditions. The second is a slurry diverter. This GIW-exclusive technology dramatically increases suction liner life by reducing particle recirculation between the impeller and liner. These features combine to significantly extend the average service life of the pump while processing the same amount of ore. In addition, the MDX’s adjustable suction liner simplifies the process of making routine adjustments that are critical for extending pump service life.
“In the old days, making critical adjustments meant taking the pump out of service, and customers simply don’t have the time or the personnel to do that anymore,” said Ben Altman, Northern Regional Sales Manager of GIW. “Perhaps the most exciting feature of the MDX pump is the adjustable suction liner. Customers actually look forward to making adjustments with this pump because it’s so easy to do.” Pump adjustments can now be done without taking the pump out of operation. GIW reports that fewer unscheduled outages and increased uptime at the mine has translated into more efficient production and greater profits.
