Dewatering in mining: VOGT Floating Pump

In modern mining, one of the most critical challenges is water management. The accumulation of water in open pits, dams, or settling ponds can slow down operations, generate cost overruns, and compromise worker safety. This process, known as dewatering, is vital to ensuring production continuity and minimizing risks at mining sites.

In Chile, where mining is an economic driver and coexists with water scarcity, dewatering becomes a real operational and environmental necessity. Water is not only a limited resource in constant competition with other uses (agriculture, human consumption, ecosystems), but its mismanagement can also affect the social and environmental reputation of mining companies.

Dewatering as a real problem in Chilean mining

Statistics confirm that Chilean mining faces a complex scenario:

• Water consumption in the copper industry reaches 73 m³/s, with growing pressure to replace continental water with seawater.

• The closure of operations such as the Cerro Colorado mine, linked to the impact on aquifers and wetlands, reflects the high impact of the inappropriate use of water resources.

• In regions such as Antofagasta and Atacama, mining is the main consumer of water, which creates tensions with local communities.

• Given this scenario, having reliable dewatering solutions is not an option: it is a basic requirement for operating efficiently, safely, and sustainably.

In this context, VOGT's VCB floating raft pump has established itself as the standard in dewatering systems for Chilean mining. Its patented vertical cantilever design (VS5) makes it a robust, efficient, and highly reliable piece of equipment for extreme working conditions.

Its main advantages include:

- - - - Structural robustness: free-cantilevered shaft without bushings, which reduces vibration, bending, and wear, ensuring a longer service life even with solids-laden fluids.
      - Reliable operation: it works without a mechanical seal, allowing it to operate dry, simplifying maintenance and avoiding unexpected downtime.
      - Stability and safety: thanks to its optimized center of gravity, it can operate in rafts with low water levels without the risk of cavitation.
      - High hydraulic capacity: it reaches up to 1,400 m³/h of flow and 170 mca of manometric height, adapting to the most demanding requirements of mining.
      - Ease of maintenance: simple disassembly, fewer exposed components, and continuous operation with minimal intervention.

The combination of these features makes the VCB series the most widely used pump in Chile for dewatering processes, backed by decades of VOGT's experience in designing customized solutions for the mining industry.

Dewatering is not just a technical challenge: it is a strategic factor in ensuring safety, sustainability, and competitiveness in Chilean mining. And when it comes to choosing reliable equipment, experience shows that the VCB floating raft pump is the most effective and field-proven solution.