The dosing of water and additives for ore processing requires a pump type that gives the high levels of accuracy required and is capable of withstanding arduous working environments. The SPX Bran + Luebbe brand ProCam metering pump, is one pump type that satisfies these requirements and many more. It is being proven for handling exotic and expensive chemicals such as Danafloat^TM 507, Danafloat^TM 67 and Sodium Isopropyl Xanthate (SIPX). The ProCam is a mechanically actuated pump with a cast iron gearbox and bronze gears in an oil-filled box.

The stainless steel pumpheads use either a hermetically sealed PTFE twin diaphragm or PTFE/Nitrile plunger seals. Where there is a requirement for water and various chemicals to be dosed into a process stream, several ProCam pump heads can be ganged together on a single skid, all driven by a single motor.

“It is this robust construction of the ProCam, coupled with high accuracy dosing at pressures up to 80 bar, that makes the pump so highly successful where speciality chemicals are involved,” says Mike Scott, SPX UK Sales Manager – Flow Systems. “Traditional plastic gearbox dosing pumps serve a large market sector where site conditions are fairly standard for relatively low flows of chemical addition. However, for the more arduous conditions sometimes found in a mining plant, the cast iron gearbox of the Bran + Luebbe metering pump will measure up to the job, giving years of excellent service.”

As chemicals can account for a substantial share of operating costs, it is important that they are used to optimum effect and that requires dosing and metering pumping systems that provide efficient and accurate performance. In cases where SPX has been asked to recommend suitable metering pumps, the chemicals being handled can be expensive and potentially hazardous. To meet the challenge of providing a high accuracy pumping solution SPX will offer systems complete with flow meters that will integrate with the customer’s remote control infrastructure.

One customer chose the required flow rate on its Distributed Control System located in the control room, the information was communicated to a remote Input/Output station on the SPX metering skid, relaying 4-20mA signals to the pump controllers. In a case such as this the pumps accurately dose the required chemical flow rate, with the flow meters reporting the actual flow rate back to the remote Input/Output (I/O) station. In turn, this facility talks back to the DCS via a single cable.

With this facility, the engineer can calculate the required flowrate to obtain the best extraction of metals. This is set from the comfort of the control room and visual feedback is received confirming that the flow rate is correct.