Published in June 2007 Australian Longwall Magazine

The pump carts consist of three 385 litre per minute system pumps operating at 350 bar, one dedicated high set pump delivering 203ltr/min at 415 bar and one shearer water pump, which has recently been converted to supply 385ltr/min at a working pressure of 110 bar.

“We identified during flow studies that at 21 metres a minute, cutting speed on the shearer, we required approximately 1000 litres per minute to keep the supports up with the shearer,” Barwick said.

The first station has been operational for the past 12 months and the second station is in the early stages of operation with positive signs for the future, Longwall Hydraulics said.

“Some of the key advantages with Kamat pumps are the ease of maintenance, commonality of spare parts between pumps and the availability to be able to easily convert the pumps, allowing you to increase or decrease the flow rate of the system as required,” the company said.

Prior to this major contract, Longwall Hydraulics had supplied a Kamat pump station to Central Colliery (Bundora), and Rio Tinto’s Kestrel colliery has had a Kamat operating for seven years and is about to install two high set pumps.