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WATER IN MINING | COVER STORY HPM SERIES ADVANTAGES AT A GLANCE • Zero Axial Thrust – the double suction high pressure pump in back-to-back design compensates axial thrust without using a balance piston. Standard mine dewatering centrifugal pumps use balance pistons which are notorious for maintenance issues as grit, sand and dirt get between the surfaces and cause higher maintenance costs; • Excellent effi ciency of more than 83%; • Easy to maintain (no special tools required); req • Various bearing options; Va • Primed for all common monitoring Pri systems; sys • Shaft seal by adjustable gland packing Sh (easy (ea maintenance) – other seal options are available if required; and op Installing the HDM dewatering pumps at t t the at ter Central Basin AMD water treatment plant • All important components are protected by wear parts. pro development starting point, as it has already distinguished itself thanks to its high service lifetimes and d general durability in the past decades. This is due to the design that is entirely free of any axial thrust effects, thereby reducing wear and stress on components to a minimum; which is, in turn, reflected by the significantly increased service lifetimes and lower operating costs, for example, with regard to the required maintenance intervals. With conventional HDM (heavy duty mining) technology for submersible motor pumps, the pump unit is directly suspended into the body of water that needs to be pumped out. However, the objective of this particular pump construction was to develop a solution that could be dry-mounted while still offering the same pump characteristics, such as the PERFORMANCE RANGE (capacities Qopt) • 500/ 700/ 900 m³/h • Head of up to 1 300 m • Pressure of up to 160 bar • Temperature between +20°C and +80°C • Speed up to 1 800 rpm • Power up to 5 000 kW 38 MINING REVIEW AFRICA | JUNE 2015 l ong long service life and lack of axial thrust effects. This new development will be used in all those mining areas where the proven HDM technology is considered unusable. The engineers therefore faced the challenge of adapting this proven “wet technology” to a dry working environment. Following the development of a new high-pressure pump developed for the water market in parallel with this new technological “quantum leap”, it was possible to equip the dry pump with a hydraulic system of the latest generation. This allows for effi ciency rates of up to 85% in accordance with the latest state-of-the- art technology. RITZ also offers its customers additional benefits and advantages including special pump features which provide the operators with significant operating benefits and, thereby, also a decrease in costs. For example: up until now, dewatering pumps had to be extensively dismantled in order to conduct any maintenance on the bearings – and then, of course, be reassembled again afterwards. A modular replaceable bearing now substitutes the conventionally used slide bearings. This bearing offers the advantage of being replaceable without having to dismantle the entire unit. This saves a considerable amount of time and thereby costs for mine operators as well. Further to this, RITZ engineers have also developed a new method for the simple horizontal installation and removal sim of p pumps due to the prevailing low shaft heights, which can be used without any heig special tools or auxiliary means. spec Ma Made by experts, for experts The new HPM mining pumps “precisely” satisfy the requirements expressed by the mine operators with regard to their effi ciencies, performance ranges, the part standardisation strategy as well as ease of maintenance thanks to their simplified assembly and disassembly. Every unit is also inspected and checked at the in-house test bed, not only for its general condition, but particularly for the bearings and seals as well as for their effi ciency, performance and service life; regardless of its size and the planned area of application. This way, every mine operator receives a unit that is tailored precisely to his needs and requirements. MRA RITZ Pumps South Africa (Pty) Ltd 5a Patrick Road, Jet Park, Hughes, Boksburg, 1459 P.O. Box 13754, Witfield, 1467, South Africa chris@ritzpumps.co.za www.ritzpumps.co.za