As large diameter, high pressure slurry lines have become more common in recent years, Tyco has made important advances in developing and supporting alternatives to the ball valves conventionally employed in the mining sector. Building on the success of the Clarkson KGF valves launched in 2000 the company has gone on to design and manufacture the KGF-HP valve which is more competitive than ball valves in terms of purchase, installation and in-line service costs. The first installation at BHP's Minera Escondida, Chile demonstrated all of these advantages and came with just a twelve week delivery lead time. The application involves 67% copper slurry tailings being pumped at 450 PSI. Two KGF-HP 36” slurry valves were installed in early 2001 with an anticipated rubber sleeve life of 2 years (the ball valve life before repair was also projected at 2 years) and the two Clarkson KGF-HP 36” valves are still in service today. The same customer recently ordered two additional KGF-HP 36” slurry valves for a new application handling 600 PSI slurry service with solids of 65%. Escondida today has more than $15M of Clarkson valves installed on the site in sizes 2” through 54”.
