During the recommissioning of a closed iron ore mine in Swaziland, the consultant appointed by the mining company was planning to install a NEMO® progressing cavity pump, which he had achieved good results from in the past. The on-site Netzsch technicians advised him to use a TORNADO® rotary lobe pump because it is particularly well-suited to the fine, non-settling iron slurry needing to be transported and also requires far less space due to its compact design. Thanks to the customer’s trust in Netzsch’s competence, it was possible to convince them to change the pumping technology being deployed.
The compact rotary lobe pump was located in the optimum position on-site for the restricted conditions, so that the inlet and discharge ports were positioned one above the other. For more than eight months the system has been pumping 160m³ of fine iron slurry with a grain size of up to 150µm without any downtime or breakdowns. The pump is proving to be resistant and reliable, even though the medium is extremely abrasive.
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