Why does dewatering come first on a mine restart?
Dewatering is the first job on a mine restart, but often the item missing from the budget. Nothing else can start until water has been removed from pits and the workings are dry enough to inspect and make safe. Plan for dewatering and the schedule holds. Leave it out and every other work front waits.
Why is dewatering often missing from restart budgets?
Restart planning starts with getting product out of the ground. Haul trucks, plant and crew get the attention, and the water that needs to be dealt with first turns up as an afterthought. When pumping does get a line in the budget, buying a fleet of pumpsets is a major CapEx for a project still sorting out its funding.
How does hire help a restart with limited capital?
Hire turns dewatering into an operational cost instead of a capital purchase. You can start moving water straightaway, scale the fleet up or down as water levels change and keep the burden off your balance sheet. Aquaflo Hire can help design your dewatering plan, with pumpsets in various sizes and configurations – skid, trailer and pontoon mounted, with the ancillary items to match –
- fuel cells and gensets
- pipe floats and walkways
- lay flat and suction hoses
- evaporation fans and sprinkler systems
What should a dewatering plan cover?
Five questions shape the plan –
- How much water is there, and how fast does it need to be moved? Stored volume, expected inflow and the target drawdown set the pump duty.
- What is the head, and where does the water go? Discharge routes and approvals need setting early.
- What powers the pump? Remote restart sites often have no grid connection.
- What is in the water? Water that has sat for years can carry silt, debris and harmful chemicals, which will affect pump selection.
- Who looks after the pumps through months of continuous operation? Monitoring and servicing need to be part of the equation.
When should dewatering come into the conversation?
Dewatering needs to be considered in the planning stages. A dewatering line in the restart budget lets consultants price the water alongside power and accommodation and lets us match pumpsets, hoses and ancillary items to the site.
Planning a restart? Talk to Aquaflo Hire about dewatering before the budget is locked in.
