Solving Acidic Environment Dilemmas with Ceramic Slurry Pumps - The Win-Win Cooperation Between XINGOU Slurry Pumps and a Chilean Gold Mine

As a well-known gold mining enterprise in Chile’s Atacama Region (a global core gold-producing area), a large-scale gold mine is engaged in large-scale gold ore mining and cyanide leaching operations. Slurry transportation is a critical link in its ore grinding, flotation and tailings treatment processes, but the local extreme acidic working conditions have long plagued the mine’s stable operation—until it partnered with us and adopted our new ceramic slurry pump technology. This cooperation successfully solved the mine’s long-standing problem of incompatible slurry pump materials, demonstrating the unique advantages of our new technology in harsh acidic environments.

The mine faced an intractable core challenge: the local gold ore contains high levels of sulfide minerals, which react with water and air during the grinding and leaching processes to form acidic slurry (pH 2.0-3.5), with strong corrosiveness. The slurry also contains hard quartz particles (particle size up to 4mm), fine gold ore particles (< 0.074mm) accounting for 62%, and solid content fluctuating between 48% and 65%. Previously, the mine tried two types of slurry pumps but failed to achieve stable operation: rubber-lined slurry pumps were quickly corroded and softened by the acidic slurry, with the lining peeling off after only 20 days of use; metal slurry pumps (high-chromium cast iron, HRC 60-62) suffered severe acid corrosion and wear, requiring replacement of flow parts every 1 month, leading to 8-10 monthly unplanned shutdowns, reducing production efficiency by 20% and causing monthly losses of over $100,000. Finding a slurry pump suitable for acidic, high-wear conditions became the mine’s top priority.

After learning about the mine’s predicament, we focused on its core pain point—the incompatibility of rubber and metal materials with acidic slurry—and proposed a solution using our new ceramic slurry pump technology. Different from other suppliers that simply recommended existing products, we dispatched a professional technical team composed of 2 senior engineers (with over 15 years of experience in acidic slurry transportation and new ceramic material research) to the Atacama gold mine for a 9-day in-depth on-site investigation. The team collected 1,000+ sets of key data (slurry acidity, particle size distribution, concentration, transportation pressure) and conducted material corrosion and wear tests on-site, confirming that our self-developed high-purity alumina ceramic material could adapt to the local harsh conditions.

To thoroughly solve the problem of material incompatibility and ensure stable operation, we designed a customized new ceramic slurry pump solution for the mine, focusing on material advantages and structural optimization: the core flow parts (impeller, pump casing, guard plate) adopted our self-developed high-purity alumina ceramic material, which has excellent acid corrosion resistance (resistant to pH 1.0-4.0 acidic media) and high wear resistance (hardness up to HRC 85), completely solving the problem that rubber is corroded and metal is worn/corroded; we optimized the ceramic part connection structure, adopting a seamless fit design with metal brackets to avoid ceramic cracking caused by slurry impact and equipment vibration; combined with the high-concentration, large-particle characteristics of the slurry, we optimized the hydraulic model, adopted a closed impeller with wide flow channels to enhance anti-clogging performance and improve transportation efficiency to 81% (reducing energy consumption by 12% compared with metal pumps); we added an acid-resistant sealing system (fluorine rubber + silicon carbide) to match the ceramic flow parts, ensuring no slurry leakage and adapting to acidic media.

In the production and processing of ceramic slurry pumps, we strictly controlled product quality: the ceramic parts were sintered at a high temperature of 1600℃, ensuring uniform material density and no internal pores; we conducted strict pressure, corrosion and wear tests on each ceramic flow part, and carried out 72-hour continuous full-load tests on the whole pump to simulate the mine’s acidic, high-concentration working conditions, ensuring all parameters met the design requirements. We also strengthened the packaging protection of ceramic parts for long-distance transportation to avoid damage.

Our professional on-site service ensured the smooth implementation of the solution: the technical team completed installation and commissioning in 4 days, focusing on guiding the mine’s staff on the correct installation and maintenance methods of ceramic parts (avoiding collision and improper operation); they provided 8-day on-site training, covering ceramic material characteristics, daily maintenance points, and common fault handling, helping the staff master the key skills of ceramic slurry pump operation. The team stayed on-site for 5 days in the initial operation period to track equipment status and adjust parameters in time.

We established a targeted after-sales service mechanism for the mine: 24-hour online technical support (response within 1.5 hours) to solve common problems through remote guidance; for ceramic part maintenance and replacement needs, we coordinated with local partners in Chile to ensure timely supply of spare parts and on-site service within 72 hours. When the mine encountered sudden slurry acidity increase (pH dropped to 1.8), our ceramic pumps still operated stably without corrosion, winning high recognition from the mine.

Up to now, our new ceramic slurry pumps have operated stably for 14 months, achieving remarkable practical results: unplanned shutdowns have been reduced by 94% (≤1 monthly), the service life of flow parts has been extended to over 18 months (18x longer than metal pumps), transportation efficiency has increased by 28%, and annual cost savings exceed $1.2 million (ROI 350%). The ceramic pumps have excellent adaptability to acidic environments, maintaining stable operation even when slurry pH fluctuates (1.8-3.5), completely solving the mine’s long-standing dilemma of material incompatibility.

This cooperation fully demonstrates the technical advantages of our new ceramic slurry pumps in acidic working conditions and our professional ability to solve customer core pain points. The Chilean gold mine has become our core customer in South America and has recommended our ceramic slurry pumps to other local gold mines facing the same acidic environment problems, laying a solid foundation for us to expand the Chilean and even Latin American mining market.

With continuous investment in new technology and new materials, we are committed to providing customized, scientific and practical slurry transportation solutions for global mining customers facing harsh working conditions, using technological innovation to help customers solve operational dilemmas and create long-term value.