Deep inside a mine, water lurks like an unseen adversary. Left unmanaged, water can accumulate in various areas of a mine due to rain, groundwater or from mining activities themselves, posing challenges to equipment infrastructure and worker safety. To offset these challenges, mining operations often require constant dewatering to ensure operations run smoothly and safely beneath the earth’s surface.
By removing excess water from the mine site, dewatering ensures sound and efficient operations. In this way, effective dewatering is essential to maintaining operational stability, controlling risks such as flooding and ensuring proper functioning of machinery. It also plays a role in reducing environmental impacts by managing water discharge and improving the overall sustainability of mining activities.
In essence, dewatering is a crucial part of maintaining safety, efficiency and environmental responsibility in mining, making it an integral component of successful mining operations.
Pumps Ensure Efficient Dewatering
Pumps play a vital role in dewatering in a wide variety of ways. The most obvious is water removal. Whether it is groundwater seeping into shafts or water from rainfall, pumps keep the mine dry by continuously removing excess water from areas where it could create safety hazards, such as slippery surfaces or submerged electrical equipment, as well as preventing flooding. By keeping the mine dry, pumps contribute to a safer environment for workers.
Additionally, excess water can obstruct the mining process by making it difficult to access ore deposits or operate machinery. Pumps ensure mining operations are carried out smoothly by removing water from excavation sites and keeping equipment functioning without interruption, thereby reducing downtime and maintaining productivity.
Pumps also help manage the safe disposal or treatment of water collected during dewatering. This ensures that mining companies can reduce or even prevent the release of contaminated water into nearby ecosystems.
Choosing the Right Pump for Dewatering
Two of the most common types of pumps used in the dewatering process are air-operated double-diaphragm (AODD) and centrifugal pumps.
AODD pumps are known for their versatility and reliability, making them an option for dewatering, particularly in conditions where other pump types may face challenges. This is attributed to eight essential features inherent to AODD pumps.
- Air-driven operation: AODD pumps use compressed air, eliminating the need for electricity. This makes them suitable for hazardous environments with explosion risks.
- Dual-diaphragm design: The dual-diaphragm design of an AODD pump ensures consistent performance and reduces pulsation in flow, enhancing reliability and longevity.
- Self-priming: AODD pumps can lift water from a significant depth (up to 20-25 feet in suction), which is ideal for situations where the pump is not submerged.
- Handles solids: An AODD pump can move liquids that contain suspended solids, debris or slurries. Different sizes of diaphragm and valve options allow users to adjust according to particle sizes.
- Corrosion-resistant materials: Many AODD pumps are available in a variety of materials, including polypropylene, stainless steel or aluminum, all of which are suitable for handling corrosive or abrasive liquids.
- Run-dry capability: An AODD pump can operate without damage, even when the liquid source is depleted, reducing downtime and maintenance needs in fluctuating conditions.
- Variable flow rates: The flow rate on an AODD pump can be easily adjusted by regulating air supply, which supports precise control for different dewatering needs.
- Portable and compact: The easy setup and lightweight design means AODD pumps are easy to transport to remote or hard-to-reach locations, making them ideal for emergency or temporary dewatering setups.
The synergy of these features combines to provide a cost-effective, efficient, reliable pump for mine dewatering. Its versatility makes it suitable for diverse dewatering tasks—including removing water from sumps, tunnels and pits—while also handling a wide range of fluids, from clear water to slurry and mud.
From a construction standpoint, the air-driven design of the AODD pump enables it to handle extreme temperatures and harsh mining conditions while maintaining safe operation. Meanwhile, its dual-diaphragm system removes the need for lubricants or oil in the fluid path, reducing contamination risk and offering an environmentally friendly solution.
While AODD pumps offer many advantages, they do have some limitations. The first is their reliance on compressed air, requiring a consistent and reliable air source. Additionally, they may have lower efficiency at high flow rates, making them less suitable for applications that demand extremely high volumes of water.
In situations where it is challenging to secure a dependable air source or the application demands a pump that can handle a high flow rate, centrifugal pumps are brought in to move the water.
The Centrifugal Advantage
Chemical centrifugal pumps are no strangers to the mining industry. These mag-drive pumps are widely used in mining, including copper, gold and lithium operations. In addition to leaching and smelting processes, acid mining treatment, reagent circulation, tailings and wastewater, centrifugal pumps are capable of handling the corrosive chemicals commonly associated with mining, like hydrochloric acid, caustic soda and more.
But when it comes to dewatering and mining specifically, there are specialized centrifugal pumps used to simply move water. A rotating impeller in the pump creates a high-speed flow, which pushes water outward into the pump casing. As the water moves outward, the velocity is converted into pressure, allowing the water to flow through the discharge pipe and out of the affected area.
In this way, these centrifugal pumps remove accumulated rainwater or groundwater from excavation sites or foundations, as well as drain water from trenches or retaining walls during construction. They also manage water inflow due to seepage or rainfall in quarries, and they are used to dewater open-pit or underground mines to ensure safe and efficient operations.
Reliable Dewatering Means Safe Mining
Left unchecked, water is a hidden threat that can disrupt mining operations with disastrous results. Reliable pumps such as AODD and centrifugal designs are essential for managing this challenge, ensuring that excess water is efficiently removed from excavation sites. These pumps help prevent flooding, protect equipment and keep workers safe by maintaining a dry and stable
environment.
Each pump plays a unique role in dewatering operations. Their ability to handle diverse water sources, such as rain, groundwater and seepage, is vital in maintaining the safety, efficiency and sustainability of mining activities. Ultimately, effective dewatering through the use of these pumps contributes to safer, more responsible mining practices.
