Mine Dewatering – Safely is Successfully

When I once visited a mine, I was asked “What is the value of someone’s finger”. I had been speaking to the Dewatering Manager about pumping groundwater when he posed this question to me. I really did not know how to answer but I new exactly what he was talking about.

Installing submersible pumps at the bottom of the pit

Safety, Safety, Safety

The most important thing at a mine is safety. We have all heard about the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and then each state has safety regulations and mines themselves also have their own safety standards and regulations that are pertinent to their particular mine environment.

When visiting a mine, one has to have the correct Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and have to watch a safety video for that particular mine. Some mines are underground, some are open pit and some are both. Mines are in hot or cold climates, on flat terrain or in the mountains. Some mines have processing facilities while others don’t.

What is common to all these mines, all around the world, is that the focus on safety is Number One.

People working around heavy equipment need to be extra vigilant and mindful of their surroundings, whether in the pit or in the workshop.

Dewatering the mine with Boreline FlexiRiser

We work with the dewatering teams and can be spread around the mine. Just the other day I was working with the dewatering team at the bottom of a pit that we were busy dewatering so that the mine could continue digging down.

We were installing a submersible pump, the first of six, down 1,000ft on a 1.5” drop pipe called Boreline FlexiRiser. We were under the gun to get the job done because we were told about a blast taking place around 1pm.

The contractor is very experienced with Boreline FlexiRiser and proposed this to the mine engineers. Boreline is a flexible hose designed to replace the rigid pipes used with submersible pumps. It is available in one, continuous length and can be installed in a fraction of the time of rigid pipe.

In this particular case, it was the only way we could get down to the pit, set up the installation and complete this in a couple of hours, so that we were out of the pit before the sweepers arrived and cleared us out.

Keep it safe with the FlexiRiser Pump Puller

We used the FlexiRiser Pump Puller to lower this all into the well. The FlexiRiser Pump Puller is a trailer-mounted, hydraulic spool system that can install and retrieve pumps at the push of a button. We tow this with one of our pickup trucks so no need for fancy heavy equipment.

FlexiRiser Pump Puller from Hose Solutions

Before entering the mine, we rolled all 1,000ft onto the FlexiRiser Pump Puller so this was ready to lower into the well. Once on site, all we had to do is connect the power cable to the Boreline every 6ft and lower this all into the well.

When compared to steel pipe, apart from the speed of the actual install and less time spent in the pit, there is no need to lift 20ft sticks of steel pipe and screw these in while lowering the pump into the ground. This job would have required 50 lengths of steel pipe and would have required a truck to carry this down to the bottom of the pit.

It would also have required a pump truck to drive down and set up and a crew of people rushing to get the job completed in time.

Do not rush or be rushed

It is this rushing and pressure to complete a project quickly that causes us all to take short-cuts and take chances and this is when things can go wrong.

We were never rushed and we completed this installation safely, successfully and with enough time to drive out the pit and up to where the blasters were sitting, arriving in time to witness the blast…. and what a blast !!

Having fun blowing things up

We were back in the office by early afternoon, relaxed and smiling and knowing that the days of pulling and setting pumps on rigid 20ft sticks is basically over. As far as these guys are concerned, this mine is not going back to steel drop pipe. Those days are gone and for all the right reasons.

I still don’t know how to value someone’s finger but I do know that thinking smart and working smart will continue making that a question that I hope to never answer.

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