Dealing with groundwater in underground mining

Authors: Gray, I

Open access courtesy of:

DOI https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2465_94

Cite As:
Gray, I 2024, 'Dealing with groundwater in underground mining', in P Andrieux & D Cumming-Potvin (eds), Deep Mining 2024: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Deep and High Stress Mining, Australian Centre for Geomechanics, Perth, pp. 1433-1452, https://doi.org/10.36487/ACG_repo/2465_94

Download citation as:   ris   bibtex   endnote   text   Zotero


Abstract:
This paper examines the process of dealing with water in underground workings, with an emphasis on doing this before flooding inflows are encountered. To do this, suitable drilling and test processes that enable the nature and magnitude of the problem to be understood are discussed. These include testing from surface and from underground. The suitable test processes involve transient analysis techniques taken from the oil and gas industry and applied in boreholes drilled from the surface or underground. These techniques enable the pressure of the water and the permeability to be established along with characteristic fracture widths. They include forms of drill stem tests (DSTs) and diagnostic fracture injection test (DFIT) procedures common in petroleum but rarely used in mining. The latter enables the fracture opening and closure pressures to be determined. The result of the testwork is an understanding of the rock mass and its fluid connections. Armed with this information, scenarios to deal with water inflow are considered. These include the use of very high pressure, high flow rate grout pumping systems, which can be used to pump cement to seal off working areas, particularly during development. These pumping systems are essentially the hydraulic fracturing pumps used in the petroleum industry. Their use is to open fractures at pressures higher than the rock stress and to force grout into these. In many cases grout sealing is not appropriate and the paper considers drainage options for these. These options include directional drilling. Here the flow rates and total stored fluid volume are important considerations.

Keywords: groundwater, testing, control, grouting, drainage, hydrofracturing, directional drilling

References:
Agarwal, RG 1980, ‘A new method to account for producing time effects when drawdown type curves are used to analyze pressure buildup and other test data’, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition,
Barree, RD, Barree, VL & Craig, DP 2007, ‘Holistic fracture diagnostics’, SPE Rock Mountain Oil & Gas Technology Symposium, SPE 107877.
Bourdet, D, Ayoub, JA & Pirard, YM 1989, ‘Use of pressure derivative in well test interpretation’, SPE Formation Evaluation, vol. 4, no. 02, pp. 293–302,
Bourdet, D, Whittle, TM, Douglas, AA, Pirard, YMM & Ayoub, JA 1983, ‘A new set of type curves simplifies well test analysis’, World Oil, vol. 196, no. 6, pp. 95–106, C
Corpuz, E, Evans, R, Weissman, J and Winter, S, 2015, ‘Surface-to-inseam (sis) drilling at Oaky Creek coal mine - sis design aspects and drilling environment’, Proceedings of the Australian Mine Ventilation Conference, pp. 93–104, The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Melbourne.
Chella, M & Mutambo, VF 2019, Selection of a Suitable and Cost Effective Method for Dewatering Deep Orebodies (Below 1040mL) at Konkola Mine, Zambia, Engineering Institute of Zambia,
Selection_of_a_Suitable_and_Cost_Effective_Method_for_Dewatering_Deep_Orebodiesbelow_1040mL_at_Konkola_Mine-Zambia
Dake, LP 1978, ‘Fundamentals of reservoir engineering’, Developments in Petroleum Science, vol. 8, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Gray, I 1987a, ‘Reservoir engineering in coal seams, part 1: the physical process of gas storage and movement in coal seams’, Society of Petroleum Engineers Reservoir Engineering, February 1987, SPE paper no. 12514.
Gray, I 1987b, ‘Reservoir engineering in coal seams, part 2: observations of gas movement in coal seams’, Society of Petroleum Engineers Reservoir Engineering, February 1987, SPE paper no. 14479.
Gray, I 2015, ’The anisotropy and inhomogeneity of coal permeability and interconnection of adjacent seams’, SPE Asia Pacific Unconventional Resources Conference and Exhibition.
Gray, I, Zhao, X & Liu, L 2018, ’The determination of anisotropic and nonlinear properties of rock through triaxial and hydrostatic testing’, Proceedings of the Asian Rock Mechanics Symposium (ARMS10).
Gringarten, AC, Bourdet, DP, Landel, A & Kniazeff, VJ 1979, ‘A comparison between different skin and wellbore storage type-curves for early-time transient analysis’, SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, SPE 8205, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Las Vegas,
Hague, I & Germishuys, L 2003, ‘Practical aspects of watersealing at Konkola copper mine, Zambia’, Proceedings of the 8th International Mine Water Association Congress, pp. 301–310.
Hamilton, T 2016, ‘The true cost of groundwater’, presented at Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada, Toronto, 6–9 March,
Horner, DR 1951, ‘Pressure build-up in wells’, Proceedings of the Third World Petroleum Congress.
International Organization for Standardization 2012, Geotechnical Investigation and Testing – Geohydraulic Testing Part 1: General Rules (22282-1:2012).
Jamasmie, C 2023, ‘Gates, Bezos-backed KoBold Metals to build copper mine in Zambia within 10 years’, Mining.com, 25 September 2023,
Maloma, MP 2016, ‘PMC lift II mining project overview’, Association of Mine Managers of South Africa.
Snow, DT 1968, ‘Rock fracture spacings, openings and porosities’, Journal of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering Division, vol. 94, no. 1, pp. 73–91.




© Copyright 2024, Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG), The University of Western Australia. All rights reserved.
View copyright/legal information
Please direct any queries or error reports to repository-acg@uwa.edu.au