Mining Institute, M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Russia

Ovchinnikov N. P., CEO, Candidate of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor, ovchinnlar1986@mail.ru

The diamond mining industry is one of the key sectors of the national economy of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). In this region, diamondbearing ores and sands are mined by ALROSA (PJSC) and its subsidiary, Anabar Diamonds. The efficiency of diamond-bearing mineral processing largely depends on the performance of electromechanical equipment for various functional purposes, including centrifugal cantilever pumps in a wearresistant design, i.e., slurry pumps. This pumping equipment is characterized by premature failures of flow path parts due to their intense abrasion by solid particles in the hydraulic mixture. This paper analyzes the operation of domestically produced and foreign slurry pumps under the conditions of hydrotransport of diamond-bearing slurries. Based on the research results, weighted average service lives were established for impellers, armor discs, and casing parts of slurry pumps used for pumping abrasive slurries at screening plants and processing factories of domestic diamond mining companies. It is shown that under the given operating conditions, the most wear-resistant pumping equipment is foreign pumps from Metso and Warman. A study was conducted on the effect of the hardness of diamond-bearing mineral particles on the durability of pumping equipment at processing facilities. Calculation formulas were derived to accurately predict the service life of flow path parts of a slurry pump with varying wear resistance, taking into account the abrasiveness of the pumped two-phase medium and the operating mode of the pumping unit. The results of this research will be useful for specialists at processing facilities of mining enterprises in the country responsible for the operation of pumping units based on slurry pumps.

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