Weir Minerals’ largest European pontoons
Pump specialists to supply two large pontoon-mounted dewatering systems to German mining company
WEIR Minerals have secured an order for the two largest pontoon-mounted dewatering systems they have ever sold in Europe from German mining firm Dorfner for their Hirschau site near Regensburg.
The pontoons will replace the current dewatering system at the mine which produces kaolin, quartz sand and feldspar for use in the ceramics and glass production industries, and also as fillers for a wide range of manufactured products.
The two systems, each featuring innovative new plastic floats developed by engineers from Weir Minerals South Africa, will be installed along with two Warman DWU high-head dewatering pumps driven by electric motors.
Dorfner, who use Weir Minerals pumps widely for recovery, transportation and milling of their products, already boast more than 50 Warman units across their operations.
Uwe Bär, project engineer for dewatering at Dorfner, said: ‘We have been considering upgrading the dewatering system for a number of years now, but following the heavy rain we experienced in the region in May and June this year, it is clear that upgrading the system is a priority.
‘We have selected the system from Weir not only because of the excellent performance track record of the Warman slurry pumps we have used widely in the past, but also because of the availability of a complete integrated pumps and pontoon system which includes all of the necessary operator safety features.
‘We are also in regular contact with Weir for maintenance of our process circuit pumps, so it will be an advantage to have a single point of contact in the unlikely event we encounter any issues with the new system.’
Tony Locke, managing director at Weir Minerals Europe, added: ‘Systems like this are a common sight in the southern hemisphere at the large open-pit mining operations that are common in South Africa, South America and Australia, but they are less frequently used in European mines.
‘This is a great example of how we are able to call on the expertise of our other Weir Minerals territories to deliver the best-possible solution to any challenge we are presented with.’
