Weir Minerals says its Warman® Wear Reduction Technology (WRT®) impellers and throatbushes for slurry pumps can help miners reduce operating expenses through improved efficiency, reliability and wear life.
An upgrade compatible with all Warman AH®, M and L series slurry pumps, the streamlined parts offer total ownership cost reductions, according to the company.
Warman WRT technology is the culmination of decades of research into the wear patterns and hydraulic performance of the Warman AH pump’s impeller and throatbush, the company explained. Together with a unique vanelet on the back shroud, replacing the five-vane impeller with a modern four-vaned design improves fluid guidance through the pump and represents a step change in impeller design, it said.
This technology has already proven its worth in the field, such as at Blackham Resources’ Matilda gold mine in Western Australia. Here, the installation of Warman WRT technology more than doubled impeller wear life in a demanding application involving abrasive, highly viscous slurry, Weir Minerals said. The new impeller and throatbush reduced total ownership costs for the pump by A$27,000/y ($19,117/y) due to the parts’ higher efficiency and longer wear life.
Marcus Lane, Global Product Manager, Centrifugal Pumps, said: “What I love about our Wear Reduction Technology is how it improves on everything our customers expect from the iconic Warman AH pump range.
“It uses best-practice design techniques leveraged by the world’s top slurry pump engineers to maximise hydraulic efficiency and reduce operating costs without increasing the pump’s complexity. Its advanced wear materials improve reliability and reduce time spent maintaining the pump.
“It simply makes the world’s most famous slurry pumps even better.”
Not only do the hydraulic refinements lower the pump’s lifetime consumption, but they reduce the net positive suction head requirements of the pump, making the upgrade an ideal way to compensate for process or feed changes which have left a Warman AH pump overtaxed, the company said.
“I’m so proud of the way Warman constantly innovates for existing customers,” Lane said. “Retrofitting WRT technology into an installed pump couldn’t be easier – next time you need to replace your impeller and throatbush, simply install the Warman WRT parts instead. Nothing changes in your setup, fitment, or general maintenance practices. The pump doesn’t need a speed change and the entire process uses existing maintenance tools.
“Really, the only thing that changes is that your pump is now a lot better at its job.”
