The Customer
Grupo Mexico. Buenavista del Cobre
Country:
Mexico
Market:
Copper Mine
Application:
Filter Feed Application, Copper Concentrate
Product:
Model EMW200, 8”x6”, Maxalloy 5A material, Wilfley Waterless Seal technology
Background
IIGrupo Mexico is the largest mining corporation in Mexico and the third largest copper producer in the world. Its Buenavista del Cobre mine is located in the north-west of Mexico, in a dry and desertic area. It has one of the largest copper reserves in Mexico and the world with 36 million tonnes.
The Challenge
One of the most demanding applications in a Copper mine is the Copper concentrate press filter pump. First, pumps go from high flow and no head to a minimum flow and high pressure. For that reason, pumps work on the opposite extremes of the pump curve, creating internal recirculation and increasing wear significantly with an slurry of 60% of solids by weight. Buenavista del Cobre also had constant leaks, gland water packing constrains and bearing contaminations just 14 days after repairs.
The Solution
Wilfley selected the heavy duty EMW slurry pump, EMW200 , 8”x6” with the Wilfley Waterless Sealing Technology and wear-resistant components of our proprietary Maxalloy 5A. Due the high numbers of cycles the static seal Solidlock had to be reseted every two months to compensate wear, but this process take less than 10 minutes to implement since it can be done externally without having to put the pump apart.
The Result
The results are remarkable. The Pump worked without interruptions, no water for gland packing, no leakage or interruptions for six months. The most conservative water-saving calculation indicates a saving of 518,400 gallons a year, but in reality, the number is much higher since the user add as much water as possible to keep the packing in good condition.
The Wilfley Waterless Seal Technology
Wilfley Sealing Technology provides leak free operation at all times without requiring the flush systems and expensive operating costs that are associated with mechanical seals and packing. This might not seem very important until you look at it from a larger scale… the yearly savings can be astounding!
ICharts are based on a pump running for 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Solution contains 10-20% fine solids by weight.
Data is based on best case scenario.
Mechanical seal flush rate data based on 1 USGPM per inch of shaft sleeve diameter.
Packing data is based on a “full flush” configuration with 60% of the flush water entering the process.
