Wilson Sump Pump Design Saves Nickel Mine Over $300K in One Year
Glencore’s new Nickel Rim South (NRS) mine in Sudbury Ontario had a major problem. The sump pump system for dewatering and handling slimes was driving handling and maintenance costs sky-high. Like all mines, they were using the hundred-year-old two-section weir system design, and it worked great – until it didn’t. The weir system featured two sump pumps: a dirty sump and a clean sump. Shotcrete and fibers were clogging up the dirty sump pump’s baskets and the pumps burned out frequently. Dirty water full of fines then flowed into the clean sump plugging up they system and causing floods. To empty the dirty sumps, the team at NRS used ore loaders to scoop up the messy solids and dump the debris elsewhere. Then the pumps would be replaced and the cycle started over. This system was inefficient and expensive.
Enter: the GPM-EliminatorTM
Bryan Wilson, manager at NRS, had been tasked to come up with a better system. He called a meeting of the minds to devise a better solution, bringing on Robert Kaven, Canadian Sales Engineer and GPM Distributor, and Jeff Murray, technical representative at Sling Choker. Kaven suggested testing GPM’s Eliminator Slurry Pumps to solve the problem. Wilson understood the potential for the GPM-Eliminator to move solids and designed a whole new approach that worked smarter AND harder. With the GPM-Eliminator 4LH at the helm, the new sump pump system required only a single sump pump because the tougher-than-nails pump could handle both the solids and the liquids together.
Did it work? GPM-Eliminator Delivers Fast ROI
After extensive testing, the Wilson Sump using a GPM-Eliminator replaced all 13 of the two-sump weir systems in the mine. The Wilson Sump pump application takes up less real estate, yields less off a cost to build, uses less labor and, most importantly, it’s maintenance free.
The combined savings estimates for pumps, sump maintenance and scoop repair and maintenance at NRS saved the company over $300,000 in the first year alone. Discover how in our new Made Tough™ Case Study.
Ready to pull the trigger at your job site? Give a GPM Sales Engineer your toughest dewatering or slurry problem. Learn more by visiting www.gpmco.com.
