Mine Drain Notes 1

UNIVERSITY OF SIERRA LEONE
FOURAY BAY COLLEGE

DEPARTMENT OF MINING
ENGINEERING.
MINE DRAINAGE
MING 323
LECTURE NOTES I
Koroma, David
[email protected]
+232 79556600
LECTURE 1: MINE DRAINAGE
1.0 Mine Drainage consists of the methods and equipment of controlling the quantity and
quality of mine water.
1.1 Drawdown
a) May take water from nearby wells and
b) May cause ground subsidence
The presence of water in a mine generally increases cost of production.
1.2 Why Mine Drainage Inrush of 1.3 Presence of excessive quantity of water in
a mine. a) Hinders excavation of mine work b)
water into a mine may cause: a) Loss Hinders handling of materials c) Reduces the
of life property; b) Interruption of efficiency of workers and equipment; d) Reduce
the stability of rocks and blast holes; e)
production; c) Stoppage of production; Dissolves soluble materials; f) Washes fine and
and d) Abandonment of the mine. weak er grou nd s g ) In t e r f e r e s w i t h s o m e
explosives h) Increases the hazard of using
electricity i) Increase the humidity of mines air; j)
Increase corrosion.
2.0 Mine Water: Pit water, mine water or mining water is water that collects in a mine and
which has to be brought to the surface by water management methods in order to enable the
mine to continue working.
2.1 Sources of Mine Water

a) Surface inflow (rainfall, the sea, rivers, and
clay deposits).
b) Natural ground water.
• Water from these sources flow through
porous and permeable formations, faults,
shear zones, diamond drilled holes, shafts,
drives, stopes, raises and ore passes into a
mine.
c) Water pumped into the mine for various
reasons. Fig. 2.1: Sources of Mine Water
Sources of Mine Water
• The waters of the oceans, seas, rivers and lakes are

evaporated by solar heat and saturate the air with
its vapour. Continually moving air masses carry
the vapours to land where under given the
appropriate conditions, they condense and fall as
atmospheric precipitation on the earth's surface as
shown in Fig. 2.2
• On the earth's surface the precipitation is
separated in three ways:
• Some run-down slopes into streams and rivers and
are carried into streams and oceans.
• Another part is evaporated,
• The other part seeps into the ground to form
Fig. 2.2: Hydrological Circle
ground water.
Cont’d: Sources of Mine Water
• Groundwater occurs mainly in geologic • The property of a formation to store

formations known as water bearing water or gas is characterized by its
formations or aquifer. An aquifer is a porosity (). Porosity () of a rock is the
geologic formation containing permeable ratio of void spaces in the rock to the
material to yield significant quantity of total volume of the rock. The property of
water to wells and springs. An aquifer a formation or rock to transmit fluid is
may be overlain or underlain by an characterized by its permeability.
impermeable formation. An aquifer must
be able to store and transmit water.
Cont’d: Sources of Mine Water (Concept of Porosity)
3.0 WATER CONTROL METHODS IN SURFACE MINE
• The presence of groundwater in surface mining • Methods of control include the use of
operations often creates serious problems. The most ho rizo nta l dra ins, b l a s t e d t o e
important is generally a reduction in stability of the
drains, construction of adits or
pit slopes. This is caused by pore water pressures
and hydrodynamic shock due to blasting which
drainage tunnels and pumping
reduce the shear strength and seepage pressures, from wells in or outside of the pit.
water in tension cracks and increased unit weight Recent research indicates that
which increase the shear stress. Groundwater and subsurface drainage can be
seepage also increase the cost of pit drainage,
augmented by applying a vacuum or
shipping, drilling and blasting, tyre wear and
by selective blasting.
equipment maintenance.
Horizontal drains are one method which may be used for open pit mine dewatering. These devices consist of
horizontal holes which usually, but not necessarily, have slotted PVC screen or pipe placed in them. They are
used to drain slope embankments or water-storing strata behind an impervious embankment.
Fig. 2.2: Horizontal drains

A drain located along the toe of a slope or batter specifically for
draining runoff discharged from the slope.
• Toe Drain. Drains or a drainage

channel typically built into the
landward toe of an embankment
or the downstream toe of an
embankment dam. For the
purpose of capturing seepage from
the embankment and conveying it
safely away from the structure.
4. WATER CONTROL METHODS IN UNDERGROUND MINE
Introduction: f) Divert rivers, drain lakes.

g) Build drains on slopes, plant trees in low flat areas to increase evapo-
Generally, it is cheaper to prevent water from getting into a mine than to
transpiration.
pump water from a mine to the surface. Preventive Measures that prevent
h) Catch water in shafts or on an upper level to prevent it going deeper in
water from getting into a mine are always put in place to either reduce or the mine.
eliminate water inflow. i) Intercept water in shallow wells.
4.1 Preventive Measures: j) Keep water from shaft by impervious lining.

k) Use of grouting method in shafts, drives and crosscuts.
a) Locate shaft or excavations in best ground (Least permeable ground,
l) Freeze sinking of shaft
where direct inflow of water can be minimum). Shaft should not be
m) Caisson method of sinking.
positioned in valley, near river, lakes etc.
n) Compartment the mine to confine inrush of water.
b) Leave pillars along fissures and faults. o) Regularly measure the water inflow rate.
c) Leave enough solid ground between water bodies and mine. p) Drill pilot holes.
d) Work under water (dredging).
e) Plug or case diamond drill holes.

4.2 Active Mine Drainage
• Water in an underground mine can be drained by the • Drainage of Mines Opened By Adit
use of only gravity or both gravity and pumps. Water from different parts of the mine is made to flow in
gutters or ditches by gravity to the adits and from the adits to
Underground mines opened by adits generally use the ground surface. Some of the design considerations taken
into accounts in the design of a drainage scheme are the
gravity alone to drain the mine workings. following:
• Underground mines opened by vertical or inclined 1. Adits slopes towards the collar
2. Drives slope towards adits.
shafts and ramps use both gravity and pumps to
3. Crosscuts slope towards drives.
remove mine water to the surface.
4. Angle of slope
5. Ditch or gutter width  0.3 m , depth  0.3 m
6. Flow rate of 0.25 - 0.5 m/sec to prevent settling of rock
particles
7. Sumps must be provided for fines settling and treatment of
water.
8. Gutters or ditches must be cleaned periodically and can be
covered in some cases.
4.3 Underground Drainage System
Underground drainage system principally • Layout of ditches
consists of the following.
All horizontal or near horizontal mine workings are
• Layout of ditches. provided with ditches or gutters. These ditches slope
• Pump stations (Main station and towards the shaft. The angle of slope should be sufficient
subsidiary stations).
to allow water flow rate of 0.25 – 0.5 m/sec to prevent
• Piping system. settling of rock particles in the ditches. The dimensions
• Water discharge arrangements on the of a ditch are; width  0.3 m, depth  0.3 m.
ground surface.
Drainage of Mines Opened By Vertical or Inclined Shaft
• As shown in Fig. 4.1, water can be

pumped from each level straight to
the ground surface. This scheme is
used when many levels of the mine
are being worked at the same time.
The advantage is that the pumps on
each level work independently. The
disadvantages are that there is a large
number of delivery pipes in the shaft
as well as large number of pumps to
be attended.
Fig.4.1 Underground Pumping Schemes
Cont’d
• Water from different parts of the mines is • A subsidiary pump station serves to pump
made to flow by gravity in gutters or ditches water from a different section of a mine to
into sumps located near shafts. From the
the main pump station, whilst the main
sumps water is pumped to the ground
pump station pumps the total inflow into
surface. Each sump is equipped with a
pumping plant – Pump Station. the mine to the ground surface. The
underlying principle is to collect and
pump water inflow at the upper levels to
prevent water from getting to the lower
levels.
Pump Station
• Pump stations are positioned near shafts. The • Pump stations are equipped with:
floor level of pump stations is always lower
1. Pumps and electrical accessories.
than the floor of the nearby shaft station; say
0.5 m, to prevent flooding of equipment at the 2. Sumps.
pump station. For the laying of pipes into the
3. Pipes.
shaft, pump stations are connected to shafts
by raises inclined at about 25 - 30 degrees.
Humans get to a pump station through a
crosscut connecting the shaft station and the
pump station.
Sumps
• Sumps are excavations in the ground of • A sump capacity should be able to

pump station and they serve to i) accumulate 4 - 8 hrs inflow of water
accumulate water to facilitate constant into a mine. Sumps are cleaned from
pumping rate; ii) accumulate water for to time. Fig.4.2 shows a plan view of
treatment before discharge to the a pump station with sumps and Fig.
surface; (e.g. decolouring, desilting, 4.3. Layout of Piping at a pump
neutralization of acidity pH) and iii) station.
Store water incases of power failure.
Pump Station
Fig. 4.2 Plan View of a pump station with sumps Fig. 4.3 Layout of Pipes at a pump station

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UNIVERSITY OF SIERRA LEONE

FOURAY BAY COLLEGE

2.1 Sources of Mine Water

• The waters of the oceans, seas, rivers and lakes are

• Groundwater occurs mainly in geologic • The property of a formation to store

Fig. 2.2: Horizontal drains

• Toe Drain. Drains or a drainage

Introduction: f) Divert rivers, drain lakes.

4.1 Preventive Measures: j) Keep water from shaft by impervious lining.

d) Work under water (dredging).

e) Plug or case diamond drill holes.

• As shown in Fig. 4.1, water can be

• Sumps are excavations in the ground of • A sump capacity should be able to

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