Written by Miguel Jahncke, March 10, 2016
In late 2012, Volcan Compania Minera S.A.A.’s Victoria mineral processing plant, located in the Yauli district, department of Junin in Peru, was facing a number of challenges including the approval of their Environmental Impact Statement for the capacity expansion from 2,400 to 4,000 tpd of ore.
The project also required the expansion of the Rumichaca Tailings site to accommodate the increased production levels. Pumping thickened tailings, rather than conventional tailings, was determined to be the best long-term and financial solution to handle the mining rejects. The project continued to evolve in that direction.
In mid-2014, when the final solution for the thickened tailings transport was being evaluated, it was determined that the solution offered by Schwing Bioset, its model KSP440 piston pump, was ideal for the project for the following reasons:
- The KSP 440 unit is capable of the required maximum flow of 185 m3/hr as well as reduced flow of 92 m3/hr when at low plant production rates, which is expected at certain times by idling a module within the pump.
- Half of the pump can be idled while half continues to operate allowing for preventive maintenance to be performed while operations continue at a slower pace or to accommodate unscheduled downtime.
- Elimination of additional and costly stand-by equipment, with the modular pump arrangement.
- Drastic reduction of water hammer in the discharge line without the use of Pulsation Dampeners through PLC synchronization that monitors and adjusts the timing of the pumping strokes.
- Electric motor and hydraulic redundancy in the power pack allowing partial capacity in the event of unscheduled maintenance.
To learn more about this project specifically or our mining pumps, please contact us, call 715.247.3433, and/or visit our website here: SBI Mining Pumps.
