A New Pumping Station for the ČSM Mine

STONAVA – A few days ago, the northern shaft of the ČSM Mine put into operation a new hutch water pumping station. Previously, hutch water had been drained by eight pumps installed in the 1970s, the condition of which was very adversely affected by the aggressive mine environment and salt-laden water. These have been replaced and their task taken over by the new pumping station, one of the most modern ones in OKD, whose pumping capacity is 50% higher.

“The pumps are mounted on a special structure that prevents their vibrations to be transferred to their surroundings. The mounting frames permit axial alignment of pumps and motors. The alignment is adjusted using laser instruments. Old electrical installations have been replaced by a new switchboard and control boxes allowing the pumps to operate automatically. Just to give you an idea – the installation of the new control system alone required several hundred metres of cables to be laid or suspended from the roof,” is how mining engineer Aleš Folwarczny describes the new piece of equipment.

Of course, the new pumping station contains a lot of electronics. The pumps are controlled by an automatic system developed and built by Sigma Lutín. The control system monitors the operation of the pumps and records bearing and motor winding temperatures, pipe pressures, current loadings and other information. If it detects any deviation from standard values, it automatically activates the warning alarm. Moreover, all the data is stored.

The commissioning of the new pumping station is also another major step toward improved safety at our mine. The entire system is equipped with state-of-the-art safety elements, which guarantee reliability and safe operation.