Slurry handling constitutes 15% of the total cost in a typical ore concentrator which is a significant number. However, if you look at how most mining facilities operate, too often the focus is only on optimizing grinding or extraction.
A poorly optimized slurry pump may use only 10% of its total efficiency by operating away from its best efficiency point, a huge potential loss. Selecting the wrong pump or not optimizing performance also has a negative impact on energy consumption and parts wear, unnecessarily increasing operational costs.
Slurry pump maintainability is another important factor. In the interview, Jan shares what’s behind the design strategy of the industry’s most cutting-edge slurry pumps. He reveals how it is possible to remove only a few bolts to access key wear parts.
Offering a sneak peek into the near future, the two experts share their view of pump materials. They also discuss the growing industry trends toward bigger pumps, larger processing plants and higher-efficiency motors.
Watch the interview to find out!