Once again, Integrated Pump Rental’s innovative SlurrySucker has resolved a process water challenge for a mine. This time, according to managing director, Lee Vine, it is a diamond mine in Botswana took advantage of the high performance result that the company’s dredging technology provides.

Vine says that attempts by the mine to desilt the main process tank using different methods of dredging had proved inadequate and the challenge of this reservoir continuously filling with slurry remained a concern, especially with regards to storage capacity. In addition, the silt build-up was causing damage to the process pumps resulting in unscheduled downtime and unnecessary maintenance expenditure.

Initially Integrated Pump Rental proposed a SlurrySucker rental unit as this was deemed the quickest solution and there were also some reservations on the part of the mine due to failures with other equipment. The rental unit was installed on the main process tank for a trial period of two weeks.

The SlurrySucker dredging unit was required to pump 250 cubic metres of mixed material out of the forty metre diameter by eight metre deep process water tank. This translates into 60 t of dry material per hour.

“The performance of the SlurrySucker in that initial two week period was so good the mine made the decision to purchase its own unit. Our equipment quickly proved itself capable of dealing with the silt issue, and keeping the level of the main process water tank within acceptable parameters,” Vine says.

Vine says that the SlurrySucker which is equipped with the well-respected Grindex Bravo 700 submersible pump suited the mine so well because of the mobility it offers. “The unit can be moved from one tank to another, facilitating desilting of all process water and other water storage tanks and dams ensuring these remain fully operational and silt free,” he concludes.