Case
Boart Longyear: Grundfos CR pumps for state-of-the-art mining equipment
Boart Longyear is a major player in the global core drilling market with a strong position as a leading manufacturer and supplier of products and services to the mining in-dustry. Headquartered at Sandton, South Africa, Boart Longyear is a global organisation and a member of the Anglo American plc group, comprising over 40 operating companies and employing some 6,000 people worldwide.
At their factory at Zlotoryja in Poland, Boart Longyear produces highly advanced mechanised rock drill rigs for low seams, the Face Master 2.0, designed for drilling blastholes of diameters between 41 mm and 76 mm and of net length 3.2 m. Cooling and lubrication of the drill head of these machines is provided by a Grundfos CR or CRN model multistage centrifugal pump.
The Situation
The Boart Longyear Group is a leading supplier of products, systems and services to the natural resource industry (minerals, energy and water), the construction and quarrying industries and industrial markets worldwide. 70% of the Group’s business is focused on mining related activities and 30% on industrial businesses that utilise its own hardmetal and diamond technologies.
The Face Master 2.0 offers advanced, energy-saving, hydrostatic blasthole drilling by means of the rotary-percussive method. This is extremely demanding work that requires the very best equipment. The Boart Longyear Group has been co-operating with Grundfos on a worldwide basis for several years, and Grundfos was, therefore, a natural choice as supplier of pumps for the Polish manufactured Face Master drilling machines.
The Grundfos Solution
The Grundfos CR multistage centrifugal pumps offer a wide range of solutions that make these pumps ideal for Boart Longyear. The CR pumps are available in a variety of sizes and different versions. Further the CR is extremely resistant against vibrations, pressure shocks and other tough operation conditions.
The CR pumps are fitted with a hardwearing, sand resistant silicon carbide cartridge shaft seal system, which can be replaced on site without dismantling the pump. Available in all high-grade stainless steel – or for particularly corrosive environments, in all-titanium – the CR range is ideal for particularly demanding applications such as the Face Master drilling
In addition to the standard range, the Grundfos CR pumps are available in customised versions, purpose constructed for individual requirements
and particularly difficult working conditions such as extreme temperatures, extraordinary pressures, or vaporous, explosive or otherwise difficult-to-handle liquids.
The Outcome
The Boart Longyear equipment is being used globally, often at remote or difficult accessible sites. Component reliability is, therefore, of paramount importance. With the Grundfos CR/CRN pumps, Boart Longyear experience trouble-free operation, and quick and easy servicing regardless of the final destination of the machines.
Currently some 20 Face Master machines are being produced annually. Each is equipped with one Grundfos CR or CRN pump, depending of model and customer requirements.