Tag Archives: slurry

Leveraging electric heat-trace cables to prevent freezing pipes and pipelines

Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Water management, , , , , , ,

Feeding water into a mine, the dewatering of groundwater out of it, and the recycling of used water all depend upon a network of reliable piping systems able to withstand mining’s extreme environments, whether the mine is underground or on the surface.

In remote areas such as Alaska or northwest Canada, pipes carrying water, slurry, tailings, chemicals or other liquids can be subjected to dangerously cold temperatures. Unprotected pipes can easily freeze in this cold, expand and then burst, no matter how strong the material they’re made of. A freeze can also result in ice blockages in pipes that cripple production, according to Matthew Gurreri and Kevin Green* write.

One burst or blocked pipe can bring an entire mining operation to a halt, resulting in punishing financial losses. In addition, lives can be put in jeopardy by the depressurising of fire suppression systems, for instance, or by the flooding of tunnels. Another issue is the environment. Leaks of contaminated water containing heavy metals like copper, lead and arsenic may spill into nearby waterways creating an ecological disaster. The high cost of downtime stemming from a frozen or blocked pipe can be exacerbated by a lack of on-site replacement parts. Icy roads are often impassable in winter, leaving delivery of replacement parts limited to cargo planes or sea lifts. Logistics can become extremely complicated, as well as expensive, in remote arctic locations.

Besides water, most air-filled lines operating inside or outside a mine can freeze, even at temperatures as warm as 40° F. As air pressure drops from 100 psi down to atmosphere, the compressed air, which is always at 100% humidity, super cools rapidly and can freeze up lines and seriously damage mining equipment.

The importance of preventing water pipes and air-filled lines from freezing cannot be overstated. Water is involved at every stage in production: mining, downstream processing and product conveyance. Large quantities of water are also used for cooling the cutting edges of machinery, heap leaching, dust suppression, general cleaning, fire sprinklers and fresh drinking water. Air-filled lines are needed to supply critical power to pneumatic tools and mining equipment.

Protecting pipes

Pipes installed in mining operations are made of materials appropriate to the duty required. Steel pipes are the industry standard. However, lightweight, corrosion-resistant and lower cost plastic pipes, such as HDPE and PE, are increasingly being deployed. Pipes are hung by chains from brackets typically attached to roof bolts.

Along with the threats posed by harsh weather conditions, pipes installed in mines must withstand high external loads and surges in pressure, exposure to corrosive chemicals and abrasive slurries, steam purging, caustic acids and accidental damage by moving equipment – all of which can weaken the pipe structure and make it more susceptible to bursting in a freeze. Hairline cracks could develop, causing leakage, and eventually break.

Explosion risks

Statistics from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) indicate that mine explosions occur most often during colder months because of low barometric pressure and low humidity. In cold weather, coal dust can be dangerously suspended in dry cold atmospheres, increasing the hazard of explosion. Low barometric pressures help methane spread easily into active areas, further heightening the risk of explosion. All it takes is a spark from an electrical device, including the switching “on” and “off” of a non-rated heat-trace cable, to ignite a disaster in a classified area containing explosive dust or gases. A lower-quality, malfunctioning heat trace cable can also generate enough heat to set off an explosion in a hazardous location.

Heating cables must be certified for the hazardous location where they are installed. Period. It is extremely dangerous to trust the future of a mine and the lives of its employees to offshore heating cables that may or may not be engineered to the certifications they claim to carry.

Long-distance applications

Mining requires long pipelines and consequently, equally long heat-tracing applications both for freeze protection or for viscosity control and temperature maintenance. Measuring from a few hundred yards to several miles, long distance systems are typically custom engineered. Many variables must be taken into consideration to achieve the most reliable solution for the targeted distance, including factors like self-regulating or constant wattage, supply voltage, minimum temperature at start-up, circuit breaker amperage, pipe diameter, and wire gauge, among many others. In determining heating cable length, the pipe length must be added to the junction box entry and end seal, the number of flanges, and the size and number of valves.

Fire suppression in mines

Ice blockage hinders the suppression abilities of a fire sprinkler system and can break pipes altogether. Frozen sprinkler pipes are dangerous in a commercial building, of course, but can amount to even a greater risk in a mine. In the event of an underground mine fire, it is critical to extinguish the fire in its early stages. Any delay in initiating firefighting activities can result in an uncontrolled fire. Unfortunately, just as sprinkler pipes can freeze, so can the mine’s underground fire hydrants, fire water hoses and surface water storage tanks. All need freeze protection.

Often a sprinkler pipe doesn’t freeze completely. Instead, the water will freeze, thaw and freeze again when exposed to low temperatures. This phenomenon applies added stress to the pipe. Even if a pipe thaws out after a freezing event and appears stable, its integrity is compromised. Hairline cracks can be subtle and difficult to locate until too late.

A frozen pipe in a mine can be dangerous, even deadly.

For instance, in December 2004, a heavy equipment operator in a Kentucky mine was fatally injured while he was trying to dislodge frozen slurry from a slurry pipeline that had iced over.

In 2012 at an oil sands project, about 60 km south of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, a worker was in the process of steaming a frozen pipe when a section of the pipe ruptured, striking the worker in the leg. The 62-year-old worker was transported to a hospital in nearby Lac La Biche where he passed away.

More commonthan these issues is frozen water in pipes that lead to crippling issues ranging from improper functioning of equipment and premature parts failure all the way to more costly damage caused by freeze-and-thaw issues or thermal shock.

Electric heat-trace cables will prevent water, compressed air, slurry and other liquids from freezing in pipes and lines, protecting your property, people and profits.

*Matthew Gurreri is Product Marketing Manager, Emerson Automation Systems, and Kevin Green is National Sales Manager, Emerson Automation Systems

Mining, slurry and the human side of leak detection in Latin America

Environmental, Equipment maintenance, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , , , , ,

Mining in Latin America is a large scale, well established activity, Atmos International Sales Engineer, Rodrigo Salgado, writes. Latin America accounts for 50% of the world’s silver production, 40% of the global production of copper and 35% of the world’s lithium.¹

*Data correct as of 2021. This is a work derived by Atmos International from IEA material and Atmos International is solely liable and responsible for this derived work. The derived work is not endorsed by the IEA in any manner.
Figure 1: Latin America’s shares in the production of selected minerals

With the region holding a significant share in the production and reserves of the world’s minerals, mining has historically made up between 13% and 19% of Latin America’s direct investment from foreign territories and mining consistently remains a focal part of the economy in the region, but at what cost?

This article looks at the human involvement in Latin American mining and slurry pipeline operations, from the humans impacted by mining operations to the humans who are instrumental in providing vital leak detection support.

Social responsibility challenges facing Latin American mining companies

The ethics of desalination

A substantial amount of water is used every day to sustain the Latin American mining industry’s operational processes, whether that be for mineral processing, separation and extraction, or to facilitate the transportation of ores across long distances in slurry pipelines.² The mining industry requires uncontaminated water too, so it’s also worth noting that desalinated water is often used to support mining operations, a process which can involve many methods.

The most common method for desalination in the mining industry is via reverse osmosis, which requires seawater to pass over a membrane under high pressure conditions to filter out the minerals and other contaminants, creating desalinated water.³

Figure 2: A mining and slurry pipeline operation which uses desalinated water extracted from the sea via reverse osmosis

A water supply imbalance

The high quantity and quality of water required by the Latin American mining industry today is occurring at the same time widespread water shortages in residential areas are being observed. For example, the Chilean mining industry consumes an annual amount of water that could sustain 75% of its population’s needs,4 with Brazil using 1.6% of the country’s total water supply for mining which could supply the entirety of Brazil’s rural population with water, according to Salgado.

The Latin American water supply imbalance has led to many conflicts, with data from the Pastoral Land Commission indicating that 124 out of 197 recorded water-related conflicts in Brazil have occurred in areas where mining ore extraction routinely takes place,5 and this imbalance has only been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hygiene concerns caused by the pandemic meant access to safe water in hospitals, for general handwashing and in the production of alcohol in hand gel, had never been more important, especially considering the fact that at least 65 million people in Latin America had no access to soap and water.6

Consequences and considerations

With almost 55 million indigenous men and women representing 8.5% of the Latin American population7, another social issue facing mining is related to pipeline operations that infringe on indigenous people’s territories.

Just as a leak or rupture in mining operations has the potential to devastate indigenous communities, there is also a high risk to more densely populated areas, such as urban locations or locations containing wildlife. With a population density of 57 per sq.km and a rainforest that covers approximately 40% of the region containing endangered species,8 an effective leak detection system is vital for mining and slurry pipeline operations in Latin America.

The humans behind mining pipeline leak detection

Effective leak detection in the Latin American mining industry starts with water management, not only because ore extraction can contain high traces of pollutants,9 but because there are many threats to pipeline integrity in Latin America such as landslides, lahars, riverbed scour and underground erosion.

Solutions like Atmos Pipe can provide statistical volume balance analysis to detect new and existing leaks while Atmos Wave Flow can use volume balance and negative pressure wave methods for fast and accurate leak detection with high sensitivity and a low false alarm rate.

To ensure a mining and slurry operation continues to run at its optimum level, introducing the human element ensures ongoing monitoring of the pipeline, product and activity by experienced engineers who are trained to recognise unusual behaviour, Salgado says.

A batch can include batches of different products or batches of the same product but different quality, so it’s not uncommon for different batches to move through the pipeline in a mining and slurry operation, especially considering the amount of water used in a mining pipeline to transport ores. Atmos Batch is a real time batch tracking solution that enables operators to know the head and tail location of every batch and its estimated time of arrival, reducing the risk of product contamination and supports with draining and filling operations, Salgado says.

In the face of US Federal regulations requiring a record of pipeline operator training and a plan for continuous performance improvement, Atmos Trainer, meanwhile, combines elements of Atmos SIM with a SCADA user interface to provide a pipeline training environment for the operator.

In the context of mining and slurry operations, the control system can be mimicked, allowing operators to control a virtual pipeline during normal and abnormal operating conditions. Platforming pipeline operators with the training environment to understand a pipeline’s behaviors can improve confidence, reduce the risk to a real mining and slurry operation and support compliance with regulations, according to Salgado.

1 https://www.iea.org/commentaries/latin-america-s-opportunity-in-critical-minerals-for-the-clean-energy-transition

2 https://www.atmosi.com/en/news-events/blogs/what-s-mine-is-ores-how-pipeline-solutions-can-support-the-latin-american-mining-industry-s-social-responsibility-for-water-management/

3 https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2021/Q2/breakthrough-in-reverse-osmosis-may-lead-to-most-energy-efficient-seawater-desalination-ever.html#:~:text=The%20most%20widespread%20process%20for,pressure%20to%20remove%20the%20minerals

4 https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/desalination-is-not-the-only-answer-to-chiles-water-problems

5 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214790X21001866

6 https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/waters-latin-america-and-caribbean-contributions-times-covid-19

7 https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_864176/lang–en/index.htm

8 https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/south-america-physical-geography/

9 https://www.atmosi.com/en/news-events/in-the-media/international-mining-from-slurry-to-human-consumption-water-management-in-latin-american-mining/

Hawsons Iron and Flinders Ports engage in greenfield port option talks in South Australia

Mineral project development, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

Hawsons Iron Ltd says it has signed a legally binding agreement with Flinders Ports Pty Ltd to co-operate on the potential development and operation of a greenfield port at Myponie Point Port on South Australia’s eastern Spencer Gulf.

The scope of the agreement, formalising the terms of an earlier non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, has been expanded to include evaluation of lower tonnage options using existing rail
and port infrastructure and possibly scaling production and export options over time.

Hawsons Managing Director, Bryan Granzien, said the terms of the agreement reflected the board’s decision to slow the pace of work on the 20 Mt/y bankable feasibility study (BFS).

“Importantly, this agreement will enable us to collaboratively assess and agree on the optimum achievable port to support a revised BFS, if required, including consideration of potential short- and long-term solutions for our preferred site at Myponie Point,” he said.

“Flinders Ports fully understands our decision to consider scaling up the project’s production output and using existing rail and port infrastructure initially to reduce capital costs, and they could not be any more supportive.”

Granzien said options for Myponie Point included using the existing rail network and the construction of initial port infrastructure to support a barging operation during the first stage of the project’s development.

“This approach at Myponie Point could deliver the best of both worlds through a lower output start-up operation at a lower capital cost and a clear pathway forward to expand production to 20 million tonnes per annum using the direct to port underground slurry pipeline,” he said.

Under the terms of the agreement and subject to further agreement in final transaction documents, Flinders Ports would construct, own and operate the proposed Myponie Point Port – reducing the Hawsons Iron project’s capital requirements, while enabling the company to participate in future growth as the port’s ‘cornerstone’ customer.

Granzien said Flinders Ports was equally committed to meeting environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and embedding ESG considerations in business processes and decision-making wherever possible.

“This milestone agreement with an operator of Flinders Ports’ calibre is an important step to our goal of meeting demand for high-grade products so essential for decarbonising steelmaking,” he
said.

Flinders Port Holdings Chief Executive Officer, Stewart Lammin, said: “This agreement with Hawsons reflects our ongoing commitment to facilitating large-scale export projects from South Australia by leveraging existing infrastructure and exploring the development of new ports where necessary.

“The Hawsons project is an exciting prospect and aligns with our Sustainability Plan and aim to develop sustainable supply chains that meet the growing expectations of the market.”

The Hawsons Iron Project is some 60 km southwest of Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, in the emerging Braemar Iron Province. Prefeasibility Study results for the project, which was completed in 2017, showed that it is capable of producing the world’s highest-grade iron product (70% Fe), making it the world’s leading undeveloped high-quality iron ore concentrate and pellet feed project, the company says.

Weir Minerals provides slurry pipeline operators with predictive maintenance tool

Bulk handling, Equipment maintenance, IoT, Mining equipment, Mining services, Mining software, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , , ,

Weir Minerals is launching Synertrex® IntelliWear™, a new digital wear monitoring system for spools and hoses in slurry pipelines.

Developed by the Weir Minerals digital specialists in Chile, the intelligent system addresses the increasing demand for optimisation and safety within the mining industry, the company said.

With the continual move towards digital solutions, Weir Minerals recognised the need to support customers with their ongoing maintenance. The company has now developed a solution that enables mine sites to monitor the condition and wear performance of their hoses and spools via a network of smart sensors connected to their DCS (Digital Control System).

“Equipment health is of the utmost importance, with many operators looking to streamline their operations for increased productivity and reduced downtime,” the company said. “The Synertrex IntelliWear monitoring system allows pipeline operators to check their equipment in the critical wear areas and perform predictive maintenance prior to any unplanned disruptions and downtime.”

With planned repair and replacement of equipment, the benefits to customers are invaluable, according to Weir Minerals.

“Unscheduled stops are reduced – leading to reduced costs of operation and maintenance,” it said. “Most importantly, safety on site is increased, as spools and hoses are replaced prior to failure, thus removing the risk of slurry leakage which can cause injury to workers on site and the environment.”

Eduardo Putz, Synertrex and Mechatronics Champion, Latin America, says the Synertrex IntelliWear monitoring system enables customers to have much more control over their equipment.

“With smart sensors they are able to analyse wear life, plan maintenance and control stock,” he said. “The ability to prevent non-scheduled maintenance further supports our customers in their sustainability goals.”

The Synertrex IntelliWear system has been developed and rigorously tested in a range of slurry conditions and mill circuit arrangements, according to Putz, with the company confident the platform will deliver a significant positive impact on customers’ operations.

The system is comprised of an intelligent digital sensor integrated into Weir Minerals’ Linatex® and Vulco® hoses and spools. A central control panel captures information in a single location, and a dashboard allows for visualisation and analysis of the equipment data via Synertrex.

“Digitalisation enables our customers to continue their normal operational duties, while large amounts of data is automatically analysed and interpreted in the background via the Synertrex platform,” Putz said.

A conductive wire is installed in the rubber lining at various levels of thickness. As the lining wears, it activates sensors to indicate the extent to which the rubber liner has been worn and in turn how much life is left.

A digital traffic light system has been developed to enable quick visual identification of the condition of the hose or spool. Less than 50% wear is green, between 50% and 70% wear is yellow, greater than 75% wear is red – indicating it is time for preventative maintenance. The conductive wire is installed along the entire Linatex or Vulco spool or hose, throughout its diameter.

The central monitoring panel collects data from the sensors in the field and sends it to the Synertrex platform, which allows operators or maintenance personnel to view it. Information collected can also be uploaded to the cloud to be viewed on a live dashboard, which is automatically updated every two minutes. The intelligent system enables operators to view real-time wear information from any device remotely – ensuring continual monitoring and better control over their equipment, Weir Minerals says. This control allows for optimisation, improved performance and the elimination of unwanted operating conditions.

Synertrex IntelliWear is available across the Weir Minerals network initially in the Americas, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Weir releases new gate valve as it advances Terraflowing, ToolTek solutions

Comminution of minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Weir Minerals has released a new Isogate® WR knife gate valve to reduce cycling discharge while improving wear life.

The lightweight, long-lasting Isogate WR knife gate valve offers miners and aggregates operators alike a step change in valve performance, according to Weir Minerals.

The release came on the same week Weir Group announced its 2020 financial results, which saw the company report revenue and adjusted operating profit of £1.97 billion ($2.73 billion) and £305 million from continuing operations, respectively. These figures were down 4% and 3%, respectively, from 2019 totals.

On the new valve, Weir said: “Incorporating the latest advances in design and materials technology from Weir Minerals’ expert engineers, the range of Isogate WR knife gate valves are more reliable, while producing minimal fluid discharge and weighing considerably less than equivalent mining valves.”

John Abbott, Global Product Manager – Valves & Tailings, said: “Drawing on decades of wear analysis, we’ve optimised the Isogate WR knife gate valve’s body design, by reinforcing the areas subjected to the harshest wear and pressure. At the same time, we have reduced the weight elsewhere to produce a robust, long-lasting mining valve that’s significantly lighter than comparable products.

“The weight reduction can be especially significant in situations where a number of valves are used on a specific installation, such as in a hydrocyclone cluster, or where lightweight piping systems are used.”

The gate has also been redesigned, with stronger materials resulting in a thinner gate that can still withstand the pressure of mining slurries. This combines with the valve’s unique gate guide that, Weir says, reduces deflection by ensuring smooth gate movement and less strain on the sleeve elastomer during blade transition.

The Isogate WR knife gate valve uses Weir Minerals’ new Isogate WSL sleeve, which comes with proprietary Linard® HD 60 silica-reinforced natural rubber to solve the three most common problems with sleeved knife gate valves: leakage during cycling, tearing and load distribution ring (LDR) failure due to corrosion and erosion, the company explained.

Leveraging the Linard HD 60 rubber’s high resilience against cut, tear and abrasive wear to improve wear life, the new Isogate WSL sleeve fully encloses the LDR to prevent corrosion. By allowing the rubber to move with the blade cycles, the design reduces the chance of tearing while reducing slurry discharge by up to 75%, according to Weir.

The Isogate WSL sleeve can also be used in existing Isogate WS knife gate valves, improving wear life and decreasing discharge on cycling.

Abbott added: “When designing the Isogate WR knife gate valve, we focused on features that improve the everyday experience of working with our valves. This includes important things like improved grease distribution and improved body flushing when used on high solids concentration applications.

“In-depth finite element analysis enables us to ensure the product’s integrity, while making it lightweight. There are also a lot of smaller features to make life easier, such as a larger grease reservoir, ISO mount standardisation and an external visual indicator for the valve’s status.”

Other notable developments from Weir Group’s 2020 financial results included the first order for ESCO’s ToolTek™ system.

This collaborative effort with key mining customers provides enhanced safety for maintenance personnel during the replacement of worn Nemisys® points and adapters, according to ESCO. It features a hydraulic crane mounted tool that is remotely operated, well out of harm’s way during the replacement of worn components. New parts are pre-staged on racks  positioned on the flatbed truck outfitted with the hydraulic crane. The truck also features a recycle bin for safer disposal of worn parts.

Alongside this, Weir said in 2020 it installed the first pilot Terraflowing® plant at a customer’s mine site designed to cost-effectively reduce water in tailings, enabling this waste product to be safely stored or repurposed.

Terraflowing incorporates a two-stage cyclone dewatering process followed by centrifugation of the final stage of cycloning overflow. In the process, three dewatered tailings streams are produced: a primary cyclone underflow, a secondary cyclone underflow and a centrifuge pulp. These three streams can be combined or used in different configurations depending on the end use of the tailings stream, according to Weir Minerals.

This three-stage system offers the flexibility to make provision for variations in mineralogy and particle size distribution as well as the opportunity to recover ‘tailings as a resource’, it added.

Weir’s Warman MCR pump more than doubles wear life at Agnico’s LaRonde mine

Comminution of minerals, Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Water management, , , , , , , , , , , ,

The superiority of genuine Warman® pumps and parts has been proven in a trial comparing the performance of a Warman MCR® 250 pump with a Warman AH® pump fitted with non-genuine spare parts at Agnico Eagle Mines’ LaRonde gold mine in Quebec, Canada, Weir Minerals says.

The mine had been using two Warman AH 12/10 slurry pumps to manage its SAG mill discharge since operations commenced in 1988. While these pumps were the latest technology at the time, the very coarse slurry was causing the pumps to wear out after just 1,600 hours, according to Weir.

“When a replicator proposed a trial of non-OEM pump liners and parts instead of our genuine Warman parts, they promised to double the wear life of the existing pump components,” Mike Swintak, Regional Senior Product Manager for Weir Minerals, said. “Our engineers investigated the root cause of the wear life problems experienced and decided a Warman MCR pump would achieve much better results compared to the AH pump with non-OEM parts.”

Instead of doubling it, the other manufacturer’s liners and impellers decreased the pump’s wear life by 300 hours, wearing out after just 1,300 hours. In addition to requiring six rebuilds per year, the non-genuine parts interrupted production due to discovery of premature cracks in the liner, Weir said.

Meanwhile, the Warman MCR 250 pump achieved 3,000 hours of continuous operation, requiring only three rebuilds and lowered spare parts costs alone by 36%, or $70,000 per year.

Swintak said: “The fantastic results achieved at LaRonde weren’t just due to the superior wear resistance offered by the pump’s Ultrachrome A05 wear material and superior hydraulic design of the MCR pump. Our engineers worked closely with Agnico Eagle operators to remove problems throughout the circuit contributing to the low wear life being achieved, such as revising their pump box level control procedures and monitoring system to ensure a constant level of 50-75%.”

Tsurumi ups the slurry pumping ante with GPN 837

Mining equipment, Mining services, Water management, , , ,

Tsurumi has released a new heavy-duty slurry pump that, it says, almost doubles the output of its predecessor pumps.

Coming with a water output of up to 9,000 litres/min, the new GPN 837 is the top model in the series, topping the GPN 622.

“However, ‘water’ can hardly be taken literally: declared as a “heavy sand pump”, the GPN 837 is intended for use wherever considerable amounts of solid matter are involved,” the company says.

This includes gravel pits or where sand, sludge, slurry and preferably also bentonite are involved. Mining is also a target market.

With these applications in mind, the engineers designed the pump with a solid construction. At 150 litres/s, hard rock up to 30 mm in size can pass through the pump with ease. Also, the agitator at the suction opening mixes mud and water so that the solution becomes more fluid.

The pump comes with a dry weight of 815 kg, a height of roughly one meter, is driven by an electric motor with 37 kW (400 V) and can pump vertically up to 24 m. When submerged, it is pressure-resistant to a depth of 30 m, the company says.

The water is diverted in a spiral around the pump – a design to counter the high abrasive effect of the pumped medium – while the impeller and suction plate is made of chrome cast iron, the housing of grey cast iron GG 20. For critical elements such as the double inside mechanical seal, the manufacturer uses silicon carbide. Tsurumi´s oil lifter, which lubricates the pump shaft in any position reliably by centrifugal force, is also a feature.

Trelleborg expansion barrels keep slurry moving at Canada oil sands mine

Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, , , , ,

Trelleborg is helping improve uptime at a major oil sands mine in Alberta, Canada, through the delivery of rubber-lined expansion barrels.

Due to the size of the operation, oil sands slurry and sediments must travel long distances in the mine’s pipeline system. The mine, therefore, chose Trelleborg’s expansion barrels, which enable the thermal expansion and compression of pipelines, to facilitate extended periods of travel in extreme temperatures at the mine.

This removed the mine’s need for frequent maintenance and consequent downtime caused by extensive wear on the barrel, Trelleborg said.

“The expansion barrels, which were tested over a four-year period at the mine, are flexible in all directions, so they can compensate for the thermal expansion and lateral deflection in a pipe system,” the company said. This enabled the pumps, which circulate the slurry throughout the system, to be protected against load forces and allow for a safe expansion and compression.

Richard Hepworth, President of Trelleborg’s marine and infrastructure operation, which delivered the solution, said: “Testing proved that slurry was able to travel for 24,000 hours in the pipe without maintenance, equating to approximately three years, as opposed to around 4,000 hours, which non-expanding barrels often provide.

“With temperatures across certain parts of our mine reaching as low as -46°C, downtime can compromise the safety of our people during maintenance.”

He added: “With our in-house expertise and mining knowledge, we knew we could supply equipment to meet the demands of the mine’s environmental and business challenges, while providing a solution that can compensate for two or three expansion joints and allow for easy mounting and inspecting.”

The configuration of Trelleborg’s barrel, which can successfully operate in temperatures between -46°C and 90°C – and has an expansion/compression range of 910 mm – was successfully patented in Canada in 2012. The barrel also provides an installation hydraulic ram as a feature for simpler maintenance and rotation.

GIW launches the largest slurry pump in the Canada oil sands

Energy minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Water management, , , , , , ,

GIW Industries has launched what it says is the largest and heaviest pump available in the mining industry, targeting heavy-duty slurry transport applications in the Canada oil sands.

The GIW® TBC-92 slurry pump is named for its 92 in (2.34 m) impeller and is the latest in a line of powerful high-pressure pumps offered by GIW, the company said.

“The installation of the TBC-92 marks an important milestone: GIW now has pumps in service at all operating Canadian oil sands hydrotransport applications,” GIW said. “The TBC-92 is designed to tackle heavy-duty slurry transport while providing a low total cost of ownership. Minimal labour and maintenance time help to maximise production and profit.”

According to GIW Business Development Manager, Mollie Timmerman, this latest pump incorporates lessons learned over the years from operating in the oil sands, and features GIW’s latest hydraulic and wear technologies.

“Because this is the heaviest TBC pump we have ever designed, particular attention was given to maintainability, as well as material selection and construction of the pressure-containing components,” she said.

The TBC-92 combines the best elements of the products that preceded it, according to the company. This includes many elements from the TBC-84, also known as the ‘Super Pump’, and added features from GIW’s MDX product line – used in heavy-duty mining circuits throughout the world of hard-rock mining such as the First Quantum-owned Cobre Panama mine.

“The client needed a higher-capacity pump than was currently available on the market; the TBC-92 pump is the best solution for maximised production,” Timmerman said.

In total, the TBC-92 weighs about 209,000 lb (94.8 t), with a casing that weighs 34,000 lb (15.4 t) by itself. For ease of maintenance, customers receive custom lifting devices to facilitate safe removal and installation of wear components, GIW said. The pump also features a long-lasting suction liner that can be adjusted without needing to shut the pump down.

After the pump is installed, dedicated site account managers are on call to work through the start-up process, according to GIW, while local services and spare parts supply will be based out of GIW’s Fort McMurray Service Centre, located close by to the oil sands operations.

FLSmidth seals the deal with Krebs Technequip TGW knife gate slurry valves

Coal technology, Environmental, Industrial minerals, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Water management, , , , , , , ,

FLSmidth says its Krebs® Technequip™ TGW series of wafer-style knife gate slurry valves have proven themselves across the globe.

The valves are designed specifically for the harsh and abrasive slurries encountered in the mineral processing and power industries, with applications ranging from cement, sand and gravel to coal, phosphate, ash and alumina.

They are designed as a space saving option for heavy-duty applications, according to the company. The long-lasting replaceable elastomer sleeves offer a sealing solution that uses the latest technology, with the valve’s operation based on its full port design, FLSmidth said. This allows the gate to be fully isolated by the sleeves from the process in the open position.

“As the gate closes, it pushes between the two sleeves, discharging a small amount of material out of the bottom of the valve,” FLSmidth said. “This prevents material build-up in the seat area ensuring full gate closure, as well as preventing damage to the gate. When the gate is in the open or closed position, there is a 100% bi-directional bubbletight seal and zero downstream leakage.”

To ensure long life, all valves are supplied with dust boots – or ‘bellows’ – as a standard feature, protecting valve stems and actuators. Hardware such as nuts, bolts, and washers, meanwhile, are zinc-plated to protect against corrosion. Each component is also individually epoxy-painted before assembly.

Several actuation options are available, including pneumatic, hydraulic, electric and bevel-gear actuators, as well as manual hand-wheel operators, the company said.

The choice of materials is vital to the valves’ performance, reliability and lifespan, according to FLSmidth. “Sleeves are constructed of dense moulded elastomer, complete with an integral stiffener ring moulded into the sleeve. They are also available in a range of different materials to suit the application,” the company said. The valve housing is ASTM A536 cast ductile coated for corrosion resistance, while the upper cavity is pre-lubricated with a silicone-based grease, to improve actuation and decrease wear.

Founded in Toronto, Canada, in 1957, Technequip was acquired by FLSmidth in 1993 and integrated into the company in 2007. With installations across the globe, the slurry valves have proven themselves worldwide with features like the fluorocarbon gate coating for reduced friction during actuation, the high strength stainless steel gate clevis and two-coat epoxy paint. The valves also contain no packing gland, as this can jam the gate, and have machined gate guides so no spacer bars are required. Various accessories are available, including solenoids, limit switches and junction boxes.