Fluid Metering's V-300 Variable Speed Metering System can be used for drift-free fluid control of lixiviant used in mining pilot plant hydrometallurgy. The valveless, ceramic metering pumps have proven for mining pilot plant applications primarily due to the pump's sapphire-hard ceramic internal components, which are chemically inert, wear resistant, and dimensionally stable. In addition, the pump's unique CeramPump valveless rotating and reciprocation piston pump design eliminates the need for check valves, which can clog, leak or fail over time. These features result in a pump design which can handle a broad range of chemicals under varying conditions with high precision and accuracy.
The system combines FMI's QV Valveless, Variable Speed Pump with the V-300 Control Unit. In the mining industry, the the system is used extensively to pump acids and solvents used in hydrometallurgy in the process area of leaching, as well as solvent extraction. In the uranium extraction process, the pumps meter Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) lixiviant (liquid medium for selective extraction of metal from ore or mineral). A wide variety of solvents are also metered using the V-300 System in the extraction process.
The V-300 Control Unit can accommodate manual control, as well as accept a variety of industry standard electronic control signals from process instrumentation. In addition to electronic speed control, the QV Metering Pump is capable of manual displacement adjustment. The QV is also available in a duplex design (Q2V shown above) featuring independent pump head adjustment ideal for proportional mixing and diluting.
In addition to applications in hydrometallurgy, FMI pumps are used extensively in mining operations worldwide for metering surfactants applied for dust suppression. The precision of FMI pumps, especially at very low flows make them ideal for laboratory analysis of mined minerals and ore as well.
