The Dri-Prime HL270 pump is not only the most powerful pump in the Xylem Godwin range, it’s also one of the most versatile.
Many in Australian mining would likely know the Xylem brand Godwin for its Dri-Prime automatic self-priming pumps.
The company has supported the sector on its dewatering journey for decades, and now it has developed the next evolution in its trusted HL series of pumps: the HL270.
As open pits and underground mines get deeper, the HL270 can pump water further while maintaining its pressure – producing flows of more than 250L per second at 200m head.
Godwin product and applications manager Jordan Thomson-Larkins said the HL270 was one of the largest pumps on the market.
“The availability of high-quality ore near the surface is decreasing,” he told Australian Mining.
“And the answer to that is for miners to dig deeper, which results in a deeper hole that fills up with water, whether that’s from the elements or from surrounding groundwater tables. And they need to remove that water so they can continue to mine the area.
“When miners get a very deep hole, they need a powerful asset that is capable of moving this water vertically up and across quite a distance.”
The Godwin HL270 is designed to help mining companies move water in a single stage, rather than needing multiple pumps connected across various heights.
The UK-made pump is gland-packed rather than mechanically sealed, reducing complexity in maintenance and offering simplistic reliability.
It also operates on a venturi priming system combined with a compressor rather than a diaphragm arrangement, reducing the number of moving parts.
Thomson-Larkins said the design of the HL270 has been carefully considered in order to promote best efficiency points at commonly requested duties.
“The design of the HL270 is all in the geometry of the internal structure,” he said.
“The HL270’s best efficiency point – ie where the pump operates at the maximum hydraulic performance – is optimised to be at the right duty points so the customer can get the most of out every litre pumped.”
While the HL270 can move water at 250L/sec at 200m head, Thomson-Larkins said one of the pump’s biggest advantages is its ability to move 200 L/sec at 200m head at 70 per cent efficiency.
“You want to be able to move large amounts of fluid, but you usually have to trade between moving large amounts of water or being able to move it across a large distance,” he said.
“There hasn’t been a pump in the market that can do both well, but now Godwin has one in the HL270.”
Thomson-Larkins said many customers had been wanting to achieve outputs of 100L/sec at 100m head, 100L/sec at 200m head and 200L/sec at 200m head – without reducing the reliability or their pump over time.
And Xylem responded.
The HL270 is not only capable of a powerful 250L/sec but is also optimised to perform between 100–200L/sec at 100–200m head – improving efficiency and reliability.
There are HL270s currently being trialled in Indonesia and the US, while a rental unit is now available to the Australian mining industry.
Thomson-Larkins said Xylem wanted to get the unit into the rental market in time for the 2022–23 wet season in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and northern Queensland.
Xylem is also taking orders for HL270 purchases, which will become available as more units are manufactured into 2023.
When installing the HL270, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can do a completely new build or the unit can be retrofitted to an existing skid, with a Xylem engineer able to attend site to assess the requirements and facilitate the change out.
Water is a critical component of the mining industry – especially in mineral processing, slurry transportation and dust suppression – and it can present itself in different guises. Surplus water is inevitable and it is therefore crucial for mining companies and contractors to have a thorough dewatering strategy to ensure water is relocated quickly and efficiently, and that uptime can be maintained.
Whether the pit is deep or the discharge location is out of sight, the Xylem Godwin Dri-Prime HL270 pump provides a versatile and reliable solution to any dewatering quandary.
This feature appeared in the November issue of Australian Mining.