Weir Minerals’ display shows that pumps never stop evolving

Always a big exhibitor at the Electra Mining Africa exhibition, Weir Minerals Africa once again marshalled an unparalleled array of innovative products at its outdoor display this year.

The company’s pumps were among the items that caught visitors’ interest, according to general manager pump products Marnus Koorts. While the variety to suit every application was one talking point, Koorts emphasises the technology synergies and the customer confidence that comes with its global infrastructure.

“Having a very broad spectrum of cutting-edge pump options at our disposal allows us to offer our customers exactly what they need,” says Koorts. “It also allows us to leverage technological advances from one brand to another.”

Among the innovations on display at the Weir Minerals Africa stand, for instance, was the Warman pump’s WRT technology, which improves wear life and energy efficiency with no additional capital cost requirement. This, he says, has also been applied to the company’s Envirotech range, another strong slurry pump brand in Africa and the Middle East. The Warman range includes slurry pumps, heavy duty mill circuit pumps, submersible pumps, dewatering pumps and process slurry  pumps. Also in the range are GEHO positive displacement pumps, known for long distance pumping of high-density tailings for distances of 200 to 300 km.

“Electra Mining Africa gave us the chance to expose our customers to other aspects of our portfolio,” he says. “Most customers deal with the product lines relevant to their daily responsibilities – so it is exciting when they can see other aspects of our solutions that could add value.”

Another eye-catcher at the exhibition stand was a 50 kW unit from the Warman SSB submersible slurry pump range, utilising the wear technology present in the industry-proven high chrome alloys used on slurry pumps, again leveraging technology from different brands. This unit boasted a high chrome impeller associated with its well-tested A05 material, with the motor encapsulated into the shell.

“We have also finetuned the ergonomics related to handling these pumps, based on our extensive experience in the field,” says Koorts. “These units are moved around a lot, so lugs that are aligned sideways tend to break off if there is impact. We innovate even in small ways, by putting the lug facing upwards to avoid damage.”

In addition to continuous innovation, he highlights the critical importance of the company’s global infrastructure to support its wide range of pumping equipment. This gives customers confidence that service levels are consistent wherever the pumps are working.

“Whether our customer moves from Rustenburg to the Middle East, or from Canada to West Africa, they will find the same extensive range of our pumps supported to the same high standard,” he says. “This sense of consistency is important to our customers, especially given the amount of geographical movement of people in the mining sector.”

He notes the Warman commitment to the ethos of ‘Always Performing, Always Trusted, Always Innovating’ that rests on a depth of institutional knowledge across the company’s footprint, giving customers peace of mind across plant functions.

“Our level of know-how and accessibility to mining customers is what differentiates Weir Minerals Africa,” he concludes. “This is sometimes difficult to convey if you don’t appreciate our full extent of our offering; this is why our intensive face to face engagements at Electra Mining Africa remain so important.”