Mobile Dewatering Rig for New European Polymetallic Mine
Critical minerals mine partners with Minegear Pty Ltd and Atlantic Pumps Ltd
Overview
A client was developing a new underground mine in Eastern Europe, and required the design and supply of fit-for-purpose dewatering equipment.
An effective dewatering system is intrinsic to the safe and productive operation of any underground mine, so the mining team reached out to Minegear Pty Ltd to provide technical expertise on establishing a primary system along with the supply of the pumping equipment.
As a trusted technology partner to Minegear, Atlantic Pumps built two mine dewatering skids for the project, controlling cost and timescale by utilising an existing design with minor adaptions.
Challenge
The end-use client was committed to restarting the town’s mining industry using the “best global practices in all areas of sustainability”.
Following the initial commissioning stage, which utilised standard development dewatering products, full production was planned from March 2024. From this point on, nearly double the volume of water would need extracting.
Minegear, a global supplier and technical services provider of equipment to the mining industry, needed a reliable technology and engineering partner in Europe to facilitate fabrication, installation and aftersales service.
A pump solution was required to lift potentially 950m3/day of water from the mine base, and this needed to be robust, internationally and locally compliant, flexible and reliable. As the mine level declines, the dynamic head height required will progressively increase, which raises challenges over pump efficiency and effectiveness.
Full uptime is essential to maintain safe working conditions in the mine, and the flow into the water treatment plant had to be steady for optimal energy savings and system capability.
Solution
Minegear was familiar with Atlantic Pumps Mine Dewatering packages and skid-mounted pumping stations, and partnered with them to achieve reliable on-time, on-budget fabrication and delivery.
Two identical customised dewatering pump skids were built at Atlantic Pumps, made to size and spec to suit this fast expanding underground mine.
These can be used in tandem on a duty/standby cycle, run together for maximum volume, or in series to extend the head height.
The skids have a buffer tank capacity of 7.5 m3 each, and are fed by submersible pumps. From here, 75kw centrifugal high-head pumps lift the water to either the next Dewatering Skid, or to the ground-level treatment and discharge system.
The entire unit is designed to provide a robust, mobile, and easily extendable dewatering solution – making it ideal for long-term, flexible use in underground dewatering applications.
These dewatering skids are designed with safety in mind, and built to be robust, considering the movement of heavy mining traffic and the critical nature of their duty.
The skids can be pulled or pushed along as the mine tunnel lengthens, a handy feature where low headroom reduces the lifting options.
Results
The buffer tank and powerful pumps help balance water supply and demand, as the system can step up during peak inflow, and the buffer provides consistent feed to the centrifugal pumps and subsequent treatment/discharge points.
With redundancy built in, one pump can be on standby while the other is on active duty. This eases inspection and maintenance routines and provides uptime resilience for safe and effective dewatering at any depth.
The new mine is now in full production, with tonnage, recovery grades, and sales revenue ramping up quickly towards nameplate capacity. The additional dewatering and process water treatment capacity has enabled the WMP capacity to remain in line with operations (from 15,540m3/ month to 28,500m3/month of water treatment design capacity). The client’s overall ESG approach and responsible practices have resulted in strong local community and government support, and ongoing “social license to operate”.
Martyn Abbott, of Minegear Pty personally inspected the Dewatering units as they came out of production at Atlantic Pumps’ fabrication facility. “I was familiar with the design and confident about this proven concept. What impressed me on seeing them was the build quality and robustness of the engineering” said Abbott.
