The historical pump installed was failing prematurely between 1,600 – 1,800 hours of operation, which resulted in unplanned maintenance shutdowns. BHP required an alternate solution to reduce shutdowns and maintenance costs.
Background
KSB was invited to the mine site to take part in a performance-based trial of their best-in-class cyclone feed pump. Following a detailed analysis of the installation requirements, slurry characteristics and performance requirements KSB Australia recommended a GIW® MDX450 mill duty slurry pump.
The BHP maintenance team requested a campaign life of ≥ 2,200 hours, which was accepted by KSB Australia.
Strategy
The GIW® MDX450 mill duty slurry pump was installed in 2020 and achieved an exceptional campaign life that far exceeded the wear life of the competitor pump.
- 1st campaign = 3,050 hours and still operational.
- 2nd campaign = >3,000 hours, due to planned shutdown.
- 3rd campaign = 3,370 hours and still operational, representing a 98% increase in wear life.
By comparing the KSB GIW® MDX450 to the previous pump installed, it was determined that the GIW® MDX450, using the patented diverter step and through regular nose gap adjustment, maintains efficiencies for longer, achieving a significantly lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
As part of the trial, BHP in 2022 invited an alternate pump supplier to perform a study and install a trial pump in the standby position and go head-to-head with the GIW® MDX450 mill duty slurry pump to ensure they were achieving the optimum life. The alternate pump installed had 2 campaigns each lasting =/< 2000hrs wear life.
Based on wear life and total cost of ownership, KSB in 2024 has been awarded the standby position meaning two GIW® MDX450 mill duty slurry pumps will be installed on the Svedala Mill circuit.
With two GIW® MDX450 mill duty slurry pumps installed on the Svedala Mill circuit, BHP will achieve the following:
- Increase safety with less manual maintenance on the mill pumps required.
- Reduced planned pump maintenance cycles from approximately 5 to 2 per year.
- Lower total cost of ownership.
- More reliability for the grinding and classification circuit.
Results
Following this success, KSB has now installed GIW® SLYsight on the GIW® MDX450 mill duty slurry pump. SLYsight allows for the in-situ condition monitoring providing real time data back to BHP maintenance and operations personal. This allows BHP to better plan maintenance work, ensures maximum operating times for the individual pump components and adds another safety control aspect to the suction liner adjustment process.
Want to know more about GIW® SLYsight? Watch this video interview with Robert Visintainer, VP Emeritus at KSB GIW, Inc.