Cuando la durabilidad se convierte en resultado: el caso de Kinross con la tecnología de las bombas MDX

Gracias al soporte técnico de cerca, a los materiales diseñados específicamente para esta aplicación y a la tecnología de la MDX 650, Kinross ha logrado una mayor confiabilidad operativa, una excelente vida útil de los componentes y resultados consistentes a lo largo de los años.
Kinross: más de nueve años de confiabilidad y rendimiento con la tecnología de MDX
En la minería, la eficiencia no es solo una cuestión de productividad. También es una cuestión de previsibilidad. Cuanto mayor sea la disponibilidad de los equipos y menor la necesidad de intervenciones no programadas, mayor será la capacidad de la operación para mantener sus resultados de manera consistente.
Fue precisamente este desafío el que Kinross, uno de los mayores productores de oro de Brasil, buscó resolver al invertir en la tecnología de MDX para sus operaciones de bombeo de pulpa.
Desde el inicio de la operación, en 2012, el proyecto se desarrolló con un objetivo claro: garantizar una alta confiabilidad operativa en una aplicación exigente, combinando rendimiento hidráulico, durabilidad de los componentes y soporte técnico especializado.
Pero lo que distingue a la solución no se limitó al equipo.
A lo largo de toda la operación, Kinross contó con asistencia técnica cercana, seguimiento especializado, apoyo operativo y soporte para el reemplazo de piezas, lo que garantizó respuestas rápidas siempre que fue necesario y contribuyó a la resolución ágil de los desafíos del día a día.

Ingeniería aplicada para maximizar los resultados

La instalación de dos bombas MDX 650 aportó importantes mejoras de rendimiento a la operación, proporcionando un mayor rendimiento, además de mejoras en los parámetros de presión y caudal.
Otro factor decisivo fue el ajuste preciso entre el rotor y el revestimiento de succión, lo que permitió optimizar el rendimiento hidráulico y reducir el desgaste de los componentes. El uso de kits de ajuste contribuyó a mantener la eficiencia operativa a lo largo del tiempo y a facilitar las actividades de mantenimiento.
Además, la solución se complementó con el desarrollo y la adaptación de materiales de acuerdo con las necesidades específicas de la aplicación, lo que garantizó una mayor adecuación a las condiciones reales de trabajo de la empresa minera.
El uso de herramientas avanzadas de ingeniería, como el software de predicción de desgaste de GIW, también desempeñó un papel importante en el proyecto. La tecnología permite estimar la vida útil de los componentes de acuerdo con las características del material bombeado, proporcionando información valiosa para la planificación del mantenimiento y la toma de decisiones operativas.

Durabilidad que se traduce en valor

Los resultados obtenidos a lo largo de los años demuestran la solidez de la solución implementada.
Componentes como la carcasa y la placa trasera alcanzaron una vida útil de entre 6,400 y 6,500 horas de operación, mientras que el rotor y el revestimiento de succión registraron aproximadamente 2,200 horas de trabajo.
Otro aspecto destacado es la durabilidad del soporte del cojinete, que alcanzó los 9,5 años de funcionamiento, un resultado significativo para una aplicación minera de alta exigencia.
El uso del material Gasite también contribuyó a aumentar la resistencia al desgaste y a mejorar la confiabilidad del sistema a lo largo del ciclo operativo.

Una alianza forjada para perdurar

Más allá de suministrar equipos, el proyecto desarrollado para Kinross demuestra el valor de la combinación entre ingeniería, tecnología y apoyo especializado.
Tras más de una década de operación, los resultados demuestran que las soluciones desarrolladas en colaboración con el cliente pueden generar mejoras sostenibles en el rendimiento, una mayor previsibilidad operativa y una reducción de los costos a lo largo de la vida útil del equipo.
Porque, en la minería, la durabilidad no es solo un indicador técnico. Es uno de los factores que marcan la diferencia entre mantener la operación en funcionamiento y hacerla evolucionar.

More potable water for Montreal

The Canadian city of Montreal extracts water from the St Lawrence River for two large potable water treatment plants. To satisfy population growth, the city’s water department needed a new large pump for the larger of the two plants. This had to be of the same specifications as the existing KSB pumps – and run efficiently and smoothly.
An opened ONI-AquaClean filter flushing station with piping and KSB pump

Sustainable cleaning of cooling circuits

Water quality in cooling circuits has a decisive influence on energy efficiency and the reliability of systems and processes. However, practical experience shows that a relatively large number of companies have to deal with high operating and maintenance costs due to poor cooling water quality, and in individual cases even experience the failure of production plants and system circuits.
The company premises of Continental AG in Hanover from the outside

KSB Guard for the cooling water system of ContiTech AG

In times of increasingly professionalised cyber attacks, the importance of secure network components is growing exponentially. This is one reason why internet-enabled products are thoroughly scrutinised by customers before they are used. KSB’s cloud-based KSB Guard was examined by the rubber and plastics specialist ContiTech, and passed the validation with flying colours. This achievement almost overshadowed the fact that the main contract involved the refurbishment and modernisation of an entire cooling water system.
Filter vessels, pipes and valves in the technical installation building of the central “Krug von Nidda” waterworks

Smart monitoring tool secures drinking water supply

Most of us in Germany rarely worry about access to a constant supply of food-grade drinking water. However, in the background water supply utilities are making enormous efforts to ensure that this everyday resource is always reliably on tap. This can involve planning redundancies into otherwise smoothly running systems.
Fachada del complejo del Quartier Q 6 Q 7 de Mannheim vista desde la calle

Una arteria vital en el barrio del futuro

Equipar proyectos arquitectónicos emblemáticos es un honor y un reto para todas las empresas participantes. Aun cuando, como KSB, se hayan logrado anteriormente importantes hitos en innumerables proyectos de infraestructura internacionales, estos no suelen estar a la vista del público general. Sin embargo, en el caso del Quartier Q 6 Q 7 de Mannheim, no había duda de que todo el mundo tendría la mirada puesta en si todos los sistemas funcionaban fiablemente en el nuevo complejo multifuncional de la ciudad.
The Spitzmühle waterworks building from outside

Turning on the taps for a booming region

Water is an essential element of our everyday lives. Ensuring an uninterrupted supply of clean drinking water in compliance with increasingly demanding legal requirements is a challenge for water supply utilities, especially in hot summers with little rain. This situation is exacerbated by increasing demand for water in agriculture. Only with experienced project partners at their side can water companies make precious water continuously available in the required quantity and quality.
Condition of the pumping station before work started (left) and the completed system (right)

Equipped for the future: Refurbishing a waste water pumping station

Refurbishing an existing system often requires more know-how than setting up a new installation. The equipment being repaired may no longer be cutting edge, but it still serves its purpose for the operator. Comprehensive documentation may be missing and spare parts hard to come by. KSB SupremeServ specialises in these complex challenges and successfully applies a tailored catalogue of measures.
The Nestlé Cailler chocolate factory

KSB pumps ensure sweet enjoyment

Our customer Nestlé Cailler stands for high-quality chocolate enjoyment. The company achieves this with an unmistakable recipe and optimised production processes – which is where the Swiss place their trust in KSB and our Vitalobe pumps. Vitalobe pumps masterfully handle the high requirements placed on the hygienic production of chocolate. Their strength also lies in being able to flexibly adapt to highly complex production processes.
View into water drainage basin, bubbling rainwater

Armed for the flood of the century

Having agreed that Landshut must never again experience a catastrophic flood as it did in 2013, the city’s authorities launched a construction project in 2018 with the goal of protecting the Lower Bavarian city from flooding for generations to come. Particularly with regard to climate change and the resulting increase in heavy rainfall events, being adequately prepared for extreme weather in the future was a matter of urgency.
Reservoir and dam of the Dreilägerbachtalsperre near Roetgen

A large vortex around the smallest particles

The Dreilägerbachtalsperre reservoir on the German-Belgian border near Roetgen has been supplying water to the district of Aachen since 1911, and takes advantage of water resources in the mountains of the nearby Eifel. From 2004, the connected drinking water treatment plant has routed raw water from the reservoir to a membrane filtration system. The ultrafiltration membranes have such small pores that they allow pure water to flow through, but retain all other substances in the water such as bacteria, viruses and proteins.
The company premises of the web-fed offset printing plant WKS Kraft Schlötes from outside.

Welcome cooling for high-volume printing

In order to achieve sustainable improvements in its environmental performance, the web-fed offset printing company WKS Kraft Schlötes implements ISO 50001-compliant energy management. This involves continuously checking all processes for energy efficiency. These checks revealed that the water cooling system of the commercial printing press for brochure printing is an energy-intensive process. KSB won the contract to provide new pumps capable of achieving competitive energy and cost savings.
Ludwig Weinrich chocolate factory premises from outside

Keeping cool in the face of sweet temptation

For many people, chocolate is more than just one of life’s sweetest temptations. The complex machinery required for the industrial production of this luxury food item also presents engineers with major challenges. In an ever-tightening market, traditional companies in particular, such as the Ludwig Weinrich chocolate factory, need to rise to current economic and ecological challenges. To do this, they need reliable partners.
KSB submersible motor pumps support cranberry cultivation

KSB supports cranberry farmers in Canada

Cranberries are one of the world’s “super fruits” and are mainly grown in the USA and Canada. Canada’s largest growing area is in the City of Richmond on Lulu Island in British Columbia where a series of KSB pumps carry out essential tasks involving both harvesting and flood alleviation.
Surfing a big wave

For the perfect wave

15 propeller pumps with submersible motors from KSB find use in the novel surfing facility of a Milan water park. The operators of Idroscalo were able to open the new attraction right on time for the beginning of the main season. But KSB’s engineers had to put in a lot of work in advance to ensure that everything ran so smoothly and the numerous visitors could enjoy their exciting surfing experience.
Zona del polígono industrial Kalle-Albert de noche

KSB Guard salva a un polígono industrial de una interrupción del suministro de aire comprimido

KSB se asegura de que en el polígono industrial Kalle-Albert de Wiesbaden (Alemania) nunca se queden sin aire, concretamente, sin aire comprimido.
Para ello, nuestro cliente InfraServ y su filial ISW confían en la profesionalidad de KSB: bombas Etanorm equipadas con la unidad de vigilancia KSB Guard. Así, el vital sistema de aire comprimido funciona de forma fiable y la temperatura de servicio se enfría continuamente. Además, KSB Guard ya está amortizada con excelentes resultados: pudo detectarse a tiempo un desperfecto inminente en los cojinetes y evitar pérdidas mayores.
System incorporating piping, pumps and valves

More transparency – with KSB Guard

Even high-quality pumps can sometimes experience malfunctions whose exact cause can only be determined by a long-term diagnosis. External factors are often to blame, and these can only be identified if the affected pump is monitored over a longer period of time using suitable sensor technology. KSB Guard has been developed to determine a problem’s cause so that remedial action can be taken.
Emscher waste water sewer, Emscher canal

High pump efficiency – Europe’s largest wastewater treatment project

The 51 km long Emscher sewer is considered to be the largest wastewater project in Europe and serves the sustainable restoration of the River Emscher in the Ruhr area of Germany. Today, 21 specially designed KSB pumps in two wastewater pump stations ensure that incoming wastewater from the eastern Emscher Valley is pumped from a depth of around 40 m to 8 m below ground level to provide sufficient slope for the wastewater to flow off again down the underground tunnel.
Hand holding a mobile phone with a graph displayed on the screen. In the background is a KSB pump with installed KSB Guard.

Digital tool KSB Guard continuously monitors pumps

KSB Guard performs a crucial task at the world’s largest development and test centre for valve technology, the ROLF SANDVOSS INNOVATION CENTER (RSIC) operated by SAMSON: It continuously monitors the pumps, which were also supplied by KSB. The pumps need to operate smoothly under extreme loads and with irregular operating hours. KSB Guard provides important data and operating information, ensuring that unscheduled downtimes are avoided and pump maintenance can be planned efficiently.