Discharge Pump Analysis

White Iron Impeller: 866 hours

Metal Liners 866 hours

6 x 4 Warman Discharge Pump



Rubber Liners: 684 Hours



Rubber Liners: 684 Hours

While in Alaska at Greens Creek, I was given the task of determining why the 4 main discharge pumps had such a high failure rate. I had never before been exposed to centrifugal pumps. I quickly jumped into the internet forums, pump manuals and any other book I could find which would teach me about how pumps worked and what made them fail. After each failure I tried my best to jump in there with the mechanics, ask them what they thought caused the failure, and then document how each pump seemed to fail. After gathering this data I began speaking with different pump reps to get their input and listen as to why their system would solve all of our problems. After a couple of months I made a decision based upon the collected data on pump failure, in-house experimentation, and presented solutions for various pump vendors. After presenting the solution, we ordered a test pump. Unfortunately school was starting and I was forced to head home. Also, shortly after I left, Greens Creek changed majority ownership from Rio Tinto to Hecla Mining. According to the maintenance team, Hecla decided to scrap all new projects until further notice. Therefore, the test pump was never delivered. My summertime research may not have proved beneficial to Greens Creek but the hands-on experience I gained was priceless.