MATERIALS HANDLING
Proven reliability in tough mining environments Whether transferring corrosive and abrasive slurries, handling high-density products or delivering precise chemical dosing, Watson-Marlow provides a wide range of peristaltic pumps and hoses to mining projects worldwide.
Watson-Marlow provides a wide range of peristaltic pumps and hoses to mining projects worldwide.
O ur solutions minimise additional water use, make to achieve targeted yields. Bredel hose pumps are chosen for abrasive, high-solids tailings and sludge transfer duties, while Watson-Marlow and Qdos® peristaltic pumps provide accurate and repeatable chemical dosing for recovery, water treatment and environmental treatment processes. Bredel hose pumps are used at major mine operations globally, including Boliden’s Garpenberg mine (zinc, lead, silver, copper, and gold) in Sweden. Their robust design ensures reliable, low-maintenance transfer of high-density slurry, including thickener underflow for tailings and concentrated products, as well as the movement of thickened slurry to batch and continuous mixers. At the same mine, Bredel pumps are also used for polymer transfer, chemical dosing and slurry sampling, ensuring accurate and controlled process inputs. Located at the concentrate transfer stage, Bredel hose pumps move high-density slurry against system heads of up to 31 metres, maintaining stable flow even when slurry density and composition fluctuate. operations safer and extend maintenance intervals. Integrating the Watson-Marlow portfolio helps ensure dependable performance with efficient processing times, The reason Bredel is suitable for so many duties is its simple, seal-less design. The pumped medium is contained within the hose, which means there are no impellers, valves, mechanical seals or stators in contact with the product stream. This helps Bredel pumps maintain stable flow under challenging and fluctuating slurry conditions, while reducing routine maintenance requirements and downtime. For operators, this supports long- term reliability across the concentrator, paste plant and tailings systems, while reducing the complexity of maintaining multiple pump technologies on site. Earlier this year, Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) started commercial scale production of zero-carbon lithium carbonate
from its geothermal power plant at United Downs. GEL relies on Watson-Marlow 630 and Qdos® peristaltic pumps to deliver the precision dosing, reliability and operator safety required for its mineral extraction process. Two Qdos® 60 pumps dose sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid to remove impurities. Later in the process, three Watson-Marlow 630 pumps transfer lithium brine, extract the lithium precipitate, as well as other transfer tasks. Their reliability supports uptime, maintains operator confidence and ensures safer chemical containment. Charlotte Wilkins, Lithium and Projects Manager at GEL, said: “Dosing sodium carbonate accurately is important for us because sodium carbonate is added in a calculated quantity to ensure that all of the lithium chloride reacts to form lithium carbonate, our product. Overdosing would mean that we wasted expensive reagents. Underdosing means that we would leave lithium behind.” Our solutions for mining: • Bredel hose pumps can outperform centrifugal pumps in continuous flow rates up to 72 m³/h and intermittent flow rates up to 108 m³/h when pumping concentrate, gangue or tailings, as well as chemical reagents and coagulants. Bredel enable water savings of up to 70% compared with typical centrifugal pump installations. They also reliably handle slurries with a solids mass concentration of up to 80%, maintaining stable performance under varying conditions, not having to be limited to a Best Efficiency Point. • Watson-Marlow cased pumps and Qdos® chemical metering pumps offer repeatable, quick, simple and safer maintenance, which is ideal for contained dosing of reagents. Cuts costs through higher precision metering, with an accuracy of ±1 % and repeatability of ±0.5 % in dosing. • Lined with polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE), Aflex hoses offer excellent chemical resistance for transferring acids. n
32 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | OCTOBER 2026
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