Groundwater Transportation

Groundwater Transportation With Ph Low Levels

Case Study Nº

29 Customer

Grupo México, Buena Vista del Cobre Mine

Mexico

2015

Working Conditions

Underground work (-250 m).

Pexgol Pipes

Pexgol 90 mm (SDR 7.4).

Application

Water transportation

Lenght

200 m.

The Challenge

At “Buena Vista del Cobre” Mine the process water was extracted from deep wells. Formerly they worked with stainless steel pipes 316 with 9 months of operational lifetime that required to be replaced due to the corrosion, as a consequence of the low pH (between 1.5 and 2.5) from the groundwater.

Pexgol Solution

The client required a more flexible pipe, with longer operational lifetime than the steel, and minimize the stops at the plant. Therefore, a 3 inch Pexgol pipe was installed in one section, holding the weight of the pump, the cables, the water column and the pipe itself. The new pipe operational lifetime is 50 years.

The client received not only a durable pipe but also a complete solution including fittings for the pump and the discharge head. For a 3 inch 250 meter steel pipe, it would require more than 40 thread joints.

With Pexgol it only took 2 joints. This operation with a steel pipe it would cost $22.000 USD, when a Pexgol operation cost just a third of it. Plus the savings the client got from avoiding to stop the production for the failures.