Topley Pike Mine

The plant needed to be modified due to problems relating to unplanned maintenance and failures. Moreover, there was a need to improve the general operational efficiency of the plant, the existing pumps of which were powered by a diesel generator. Sites had been experiencing high failure rates with expensive repair costs – plans to increase flow rate and remain operational throughout the year had been proposed. The size of the submersibles required a NPSH of 3-4 metres positive inlet pressure, which could only be achieved by lowering the pumps to a submerged position that drew rocks and heavy solids up from the bottom of the bed. By using the pumps above this level, cavitation was being experienced.

A solution was required to reduce downtime/maintenance costs and expensive failures. When a conventional submersible motor fails, it is not always economically to repair the motor when compared to the cost of buying a new pump.

Rather than replacing the old pump for a new one, a policy to look at reducing overall LCC at the site was implemented, reducing obsolescence from scrap and improving efficiency to allow the plant to be more flexible.