THE OPERATING EXPERIENCE OF SECTIONAL PUMPS IN UNDERGROUND KIMBERLITE MINE "MIR"
The kimberlite underground mine “Mi”, included into the structure of MGOK AK «Alrosa» (JSC), currently ranks second in diamond production among the four operating underground kimberlite mines of the company. The annual ore output of this mine is about 900 thousand tons. Due to constant flooding of the mothballed kimberlite quarry “Mir”, the underground kimberlite mine of the same name “Mir” is the most inundated among current underground kimberlite mines located in the territory of Western Yakutia. Thus, we can conclude that improving the efficiency of pumping equipment is a priority for the management of MGOK «Alrosa» (JSC). This article provides detailed information about operation of sectional pumps of the pumping stations in the underground kimberlite mine “Mir”. The analysis of substantial statistical material shows that at present frequent failures of balancing device units and bearings are the main causes of low reliability of the pumps in the kimberlite underground mine “Mir”. Due to the high cost of spare original units of the balancing devices in MGOK, worn parts of the available balancing device units are restored and reused. In addition to the restoration of worn parts of the balancing device units, MGOK operations actively practiced their production on their own. All this explains the low average operating time of the balancing device unit to failure. It is established that provision of sectional pumps model CNS(K) 400-660 with special protection for prevention of mechanical impurities getting into the bearings, gave them higher reliability compared to sectional pumps model NCS(K) 180-700.