Backfill valves are central to the effective conveyance of paste backfill in underground mining operations. That is why Australian-based manufacturer, PROEGER, working in association with their strategic partners for Africa, PACE Valves, ensured that a suitable product was recommended for a client, Kamoa Copper S.A. in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Given that the backfill valves were to serve a critical function, there had to be no margin for error.
Ultra-high pressure valves
The client required a series of ultra-high pressure valves for paste backfill. They were very particular about valve specifications. “We were consulted to offer from our existing products, offering severe service zero cavity and zero dead space isolation, dump and diversion valves rated to 250 Bar,” recounts, Perry Proeger, the lead of PROEGER’s applications specialists.
Relevant know-how
PROEGER’s know-how was relevant for the project in particular. Currently, they are the only manufacturer globally who can design and manufacture valves for this specific process in the pressures and sizes needed for Kamoa Copper S.A.. The valves would allow the mine to go deeper underground and sustain the higher pump pressures.
As the preferred service providers, the team at PACE VALVES and PROEGER were mindful that the paste backfill values had to tick all the boxes. Consequently, all key elements, mainly the design, installation and commissioning had to be perfect as the valves served a critical function.
Designing and building
Accordingly, the team of application specialists and designers were able to work with the client’s appointed engineering and process consultants, Paterson Cooke and DRA Global, to design and build the range of valves. The products would have to fulfil all the requirements relative to the pressures, sizes, connection types, functionality and resistance to wear.
READ: Remote pump monitoring in the mining sector
Seamless installation and commissioning
The team did their utmost to ensure that the installation was done to the exact specifications in terms of quality and time of delivery. What worked to their advantage was that PROEGER’s valves and controls are designed with a “turn-key” concept in mind. This minimises site issues with commissioning and installation. “The fail-safe installation and commissioning instructions could be carried out seamlessly during the middle of the COVID19 pandemic when travel globally was restricted. Our installation, operation and maintenance manuals are clear and concise enabling apprentices to our technology to be able to install, commission and operate the valves without any difficulty,” Perry elaborates.
The team at PACE VALVES and PROEGER are hoping to replicate the successful delivery of the backfill valves and controls at Kamoa Copper S.A. in the DRC to other projects across Africa in 2022 and beyond. “In conjunction with our associates, we are sufficiently equipped to meet requirements for any scale of project,” pronounces Perry.
Customised turn-key solutions
The solutions offered by PACE VALVES and PROEGER include not only the valve and actuators, but detailed engineered control systems matched specifically to each valve which are thoroughly tested in-house before shipment. “Gone are the days of end-users and contractors needing to design and build control systems that then do not seamlessly communicate with the valves. This is the true sense of the word of providing solid “turn-key solutions,” Perry stresses
A comprehensive range of paste-specific flow control products
PROEGER and PACE VALVES also provide the paste backfill market with a complete and comprehensive range of paste-specific flow control products. These include valves, control systems and instruments that support both surface and underground operations. Effectively, the company is a One-Stop-Shop for all paste backfill valves, controls and instruments.
Article submitted by Jimmy Swira, a Johannesburg-based writer who plies his trade in the B2B space, with a strong bias towards Construction, MOG (Mining, Oil and Gas), Transport, Supply Chain Management, etc. He is an all-rounder who can also dabble in fiction, sports and political economy.