Froth pump and method

A pump comprising a pump casing having a front side and a rear side with a pumping chamber within the pump casing, an inlet to the pumping chamber, and a discharge outlet from the pumping chamber, an impeller mounted for rotation within the pumping chamber about a rotation axis, the pumping chamber including an inner region at or near the rotation axis and an outer region remote from the rotation axis, the discharge outlet being in the outer region of the pumping chamber, the impeller including a shroud having a front face and a rear face with a plurality of pumping vanes extending from the front face, characterised in that the pump further includes a collection chamber at the rear side of the pump casing, the collection chamber being in fluid communication with the pumping chamber, the impeller including one or more passageways extending through the shroud, one end of said passageways opening into the collection chamber and the other end opening into the pumping chamber through the front face of the impeller, and a flow inducer disposed within the collection chamber, the flow inducer including an inducer element mounted for rotation within the collection chamber and configured to generate an axial flow component in an axial direction with respect to the rotation axis and a swirl flow component of a fluid within the collection chamber, the collection chamber including a venting outlet configured for the discharge of fluid from the collection chamber in the axial direction and a transfer outlet zone in fluid communication with the outer region of the pumping chamber.