Sustainable mining practices: Integrating sealing technology for environmental compliance
For the mining industry, there is no singular solution to the layered challenge of operational resilience, but while digital transformation grabs headlines, sealing technology evolution is quietly driving impressive sustainability gains.
In the first part of this blog, we looked at how balancing productivity with environmental responsibility is becoming a strategic necessity.
While no single solution makes mining more sustainable, system-level improvements, including integrating technologies to identify inefficiencies early through remote fault detection, can incrementally cut fugitive emissions, reduce energy consumption and improve regulatory compliance, creating a stronger proposition for positive change in the industry.
Technology solutions for more sustainable mining
Advanced mechanical seals, supported by intelligent condition monitoring, enable mining operators to reduce water consumption, emissions and unplanned downtime while improving compliance, supporting decarbonisation and underpinning operational resilience.
Slurry seals, such as the Type 5800 series, resist the destructive effects of ore, limestone, phosphates, kaolin clay, lime mud, boiler fly ash, rock salt, sludge, sand and gravel. The wear-resistant hardware keeps the slurry seal face in place, simultaneously extending MTBR and ticking the boxes for sustainability and business reliability.
By switching to advanced mechanical slurry seals featuring diamond-treated faces, such as the Type 5840 and Type 5870, mine operators can significantly improve reliability during upsets, including brief or intermittent dry-running events that would normally damage conventional seal faces.
Sustainability in the real world
In practice, measurable gains often come from targeted reliability improvements. For example, the John Crane Type 5860 heavy-duty cartridge dual and single mechanical seal and Plan 53A support system saved this Peruvian mine leaching plant more than $200,000 annually by improving mean time between failures to more than two years.
The Type 5860 – aligned with the Type SB1 – seals replaced packing for reliable,
flush-free operation of slurry pumps for this newly developed gold mine in Eastern Canada, to address reliability concerns and failures that risked wasting water and creating maintenance and safety challenges.
Similarly, the Type 5902TS mechanical seal reduced water consumption by approximately 95% for one of the world’s leading copper producers in northern Chile. The switch extended mean time between repair (MTBR) from just two months to more than two years and eliminated the leakage of process fluid/slurry to the atmosphere.
Supporting sustainable mining through predictive maintenance and monitoring
Just as preventing catastrophic equipment failure aligns with operational reliability, and waste reduction links to sustainability, a predictive maintenance strategy underpins it all – and the John Crane Sense® portfolio is the key enabler. So, what is it, and what does it do?
Two key factors characterise mining operations: aggressive materials and harsh operating conditions. So, asset visibility is a business-critical imperative in maintaining uptime.
John Crane Sense® Monitor offers continuous wireless vibration and temperature monitoring of rotating and turbomachinery assets, providing near real-time insight into equipment health. It captures early-stage mechanical and process anomalies that traditional inspection methods may miss.
When integrated with advanced mechanical seals, John Crane Sense® Monitor
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Validates dry-running or reduced-flush seal strategies
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Detects abnormal vibration that can compromise seal faces
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Supports data-driven maintenance planning aligned with ESG targets
In our first blog, we mentioned how continuous visibility into equipment condition translates into measurable operational and sustainability gains:
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Sealing upgrades improve ESG metrics and reduce water usage to help meet tightening environmental regulations without compromising performance.
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Mechanical seals reduce leakage, emissions and energy consumption to improve uptime and reduce waste.
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Digital monitoring solutions support reliability and the predictive strategies that reduce downtime and extend asset life.
How modern sealing technologies support sustainable mining
Achieving sustainability in a heavily mechanised industry typified by always-on processes cannot happen overnight. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Instead, a programme of incremental, achievable change over time, in line with planned downtime, scheduled upgrading and replacement work, is possible. In this way, small changes can make a big impact.
Operators need bespoke solutions. The industry can achieve more sustainable operations by integrating John Crane sealing technologies, which have a proven track record in mining and other industries characterised by abrasive materials under extreme pressures and temperatures.
The key is understanding that sustainability and business efficiency principles are identical in many ways: the sealing solution that minimises emissions and reduces water consumption also improves efficiency, helps meet regulatory compliance targets and supports a more sustainable approach. John Crane solutions can help with both.
Make your decisions data-driven
While not created for continuous dry operation, the superior heat-handling characteristics of diamond-treated seal faces enhance durability and reduce friction. They support sustainability by helping to minimise or eliminate the need for cooling water, underpinning more resilient, sustainable operations in a measurable way.
Our easy-to-use online Water Savings Estimator helps mining operators compare their current sealing methods with technologies proven to reduce water consumption. Entering basic data into this calculator returns estimates of the potential water reductions and associated cost savings users might expect in different scenarios.
Simple metrics like this, and consulting with John Crane sealing experts, help identify site-specific opportunities to improve sealing performance and add digital insight to help mining operations move toward a more sustainable future – one incremental upgrade at a time.
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