Mechanical Technology

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Pump systems, pipes, valves and seals

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Mechanical Technology — September 2016

ron is one of the world’s most com-

monly used metals. It is the key

ingredient for almost 95% of all

metal alloys produced globally per

year. In Brazil, the world’s third largest

producer of iron ore, the Itaminas mine

in Sarzedo in the state of Minas Gerais,

produced 7.5-million tons of iron ore in

2014, making it the second largest sup-

plier of pig iron in the country.

The Itaminas mine operates 24/7 and

manufactures sinter feed, pellet feed and

hematite iron ore, all of which require a

continuous and reliable operation for cost

effectiveness.

The process begins with the concen-

trator and then moves to the magnetic

separator, cyclone, product stalls and

finally on to the tailings tank. The ore

is then pumped to the tailings dam

via a pumping system comprising five

stations. Each station is equipped with

three pumps, two in operation and one

installed as a standby unit.

As the iron ore from the Sarzedo

region has a density of 1.85 kg/m

, the

previously installed pumps experienced

very high wear due to the abrasiveness

of the material being pumped. This ren-

dered them unsuitable for the specific

pumping duty required.

The pumps were experiencing life-

times limited to approximately three

Itaminas, one of Brazil’s largest iron ore mines, has cut maintenance

time by 75%, achieved three times the life on wear components

and cut back considerably on the use of water by installing Metso’s

Orion HM series slurry pumps with expeller gland seal technology.

Esley Cardoso, Itaminas’ operations supervisor with Audrei

Moron, Metso’s market development coordinator for the

Sorocaba area of Brazil.

The Itaminas mine in Sarzedo in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil pro-

duced 7.5-million tons of iron ore in 2014, making it the second largest

supplier of pig iron in the country.

After the installation of Metso’s Orion HM series pumps, Itaminas has been

able to reduce maintenance by 75% and extent the life of the wear compo-

nents threefold, from three to nine months.

Extending pump wear life

and saving

water at iron ore mines

months. In addition, labour to main-

tain these pumps was expensive and

complex. Itaminas therefore chose to

try Metso’s pumps with the goal of

decreasing the company’s maintenance

downtime and increasing production.

Experts fromMetso installed the Orion

HM series pumps fitted with an expeller

gland seal, which operates without the

use of gland sealing water. This pump

is also fitted with high chrome wet-end

components, which are highly recom-

mended when pumping very abrasive

slurry material.

“Maintenance is much simpler and

less frequent now,” says Esley Cardoso,

Itaminas’ operations supervisor. “The

tailings pumping system has been work-

ing for more than two years now without

any failures.”

After the installation of Metso’s Orion

HM series pumps, Itaminas has been

able to reduce maintenance by 75%.

In addition, because of Metso expeller

gland sealing technology, the mine is

saving over 6.0-billion litres of water.

“As water availability is extremely scarce

at the mine, by being able to eliminate

the use of gland sealing water, the mine

has greatly reduced its costs thanks to

the new technology,” explains Guilherme

Almeida of Metso technical support.

To improve customer service and

guarantee the shortest possible shutdown

times, Metso also provided a consign-

ment of stock parts and components to

Itaminas. “They only pay for the parts

they use. With the maintenance work-

load reduced, Itaminas can direct the

team members to other tasks,” notes

Metso sales engineer, André Rizzotti. The

stock programme involves monthly stock

evaluation with monitoring and sugges-

tions for improvements being made by

Metso experts.

Not only has this arrangement re-

duced costs for the mine, it has provided

the company with immediate access to

parts whenever needed. This reduces

unplanned downtime and ultimately

maximises production levels.

In total, Itaminas has installed over

70 Metso pumps at its mine, making it

one of Metso’s largest installed bases in

Brazil.