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Determination of the Operating Parameters of an Open Pit Dewatering System

Conference Paper · August 2010

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2166.6646

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Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

Determination of the Operating Parameters of an Open Pit Dewatering

System

*1Afum, B. O. and 2Bansah, K. J.

1
African Explosives Limited, Bogoso, Ghana
2
Mining Engineering Department, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana
*Main Author: oppong.bright@yahoo.com
Corresponding Author: kjbansah@umat.edu.gh

Abstract

Flooding of mine pits affects production operations, causes irreparable damage to mine
equipment, and decreases productivity and pit wall stability. It also poses health hazards to
workers. Pit dewatering therefore, is an essential activity in mining. This paper looks at
managing the quantity of water entering a hypothetical open pit mine. An effective and efficient
dewatering system employing the creation of sumps and pumping systems was designed. A
suitable pump for the dewatering system was also selected. The total quantity of water entering
the mine per day was estimated to be 8114 m3. An axial flow centrifugal pump was found
suitable for handling the water inflow into the pit. The selected pump has an operating discharge
rate of 373 m3/hr; an operating pump head of 114 m; a pump efficiency of 92%; and the power
of pump is 22 kW/hr.

Keywords

Dewatering, Mine Pit, Pump, Sumps, Water, Axial Flow Centrifugal Pump

1 Introduction
Pit dewatering is an essential activity in mining. If there is no effective dewatering system in
place in a pit, the inflow of water from rainfall, surface and ground waters will flood the pit.
Excessive water in the pit decreases productivity and poses health hazards to employees (Afum,
2008).

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Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

Ineffective pit dewatering systems have been observed in most surface mines in Ghana. Critical
parameters associated with the design of a good dewatering system have often been neglected.
There is therefore, poor matching of pumps to the quantity of water to be removed from the pit.
This leads to either over-utilisation or under-utilisation of pumps. The end effect is increased
operating cost. This paper presents a systematic approach to designing an effective and efficient
dewatering system to minimize the hydraulic impacts of surface mining operations in Ghana.

2 Dewatering
Dewatering is a process of controlling the quantity and quality of mine water with the view of
minimising the hydraulic impact of mining. The common structures designed to effect
dewatering are sediment basins, diversions, culverts, energy dissipaters and dewatering systems
(Warner, 1992). The main factors to consider in the design of a dewatering system of a mine
include the total quantity of water entering the pit, piping system, depth of the pit and type of
pump to be selected.

The total quantity of water entering the pit is obtained from the sum of the various sources of
water, including groundwater, rainfall and surface run-off. The piping system should have low
resistance to fluid flow, and must be able to withstand extreme external forces and pressures. The
depth of the pit determines the total head of the pump. The pump to be selected must be able to
handle the total quantity of water in the pit. This pump should have a characteristic curve that
gives the best efficiency, low power consumption and above all low operating cost (Asiedu-
Asante, 2005).

3 Methods
The methods involved in the determination of the total quantity of water inflow into the pit, the
total length of piping system and the total head of the pump are discussed in this section.

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Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

3.1 Determination of Total Quantity of Water Inflow into the Pit

Water entering into a pit includes groundwater, run-off water, direct rainfall and water sent into
the pit for mining operations such as drilling and dust control. The sum of these waters gives the
total quantity of water inflow into the pit.

Groundwater:
The permeability of aquifers and the hydraulic gradient are the main principles that govern the
rate of groundwater movement. The technique of estimating the groundwater inflow rate in a pit
involves measurement of water levels in boreholes (Amponsah, 2004). The rate of flow of
groundwater into a pit is given by equation 1.
Qg  K  I  A (1)

where: Qg = Quantity of seepage rate flow into pit, (m3/hr), I = Hydraulic gradient, (dh/dl), and K
= Coefficient of permeability, (m/s).

Run-off Water:
This is basically due to rain water falling directly on the sloping sides of the pit walls or
watershed area of the pit. The run-off water entering the pit can be determined using the rational
method (Warner, 1992).
Qr  0.0028  C  I R  A (2)

where: Q r = Peak Flow, (m3/hr), C = Dimensionless run-off coefficient, I R = Rainfall intensity,

(m/hr), and A = Drainage/watershed area, (m2).

Direct Rainfall Water:

The quantity of water that gets into the pit as a result of rainfall can be calculated by determining
the volume of water that would be collected at the floor of the pit. The rate of flow of water due
to direct rainfall is estimated using equation 3.

Q ra  A P  I R (3)
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Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

where: Q ra = Rate of flow due to direct rainfall, (m3/hr), A p = Area of pit floor, (m2), and I R =

Rainfall intensity, (m/hr).

3.2 Determination of the Total Length of Piping System

The various pipe lengths, pipe fittings and the total equivalent lengths of the pipe fittings are
considered in the determining the total length of a piping system. Fig. 1 is a schematic design of
a dewatering system.

Fig. 1 Schematic Diagram of a Pit Dewatering System (Afum, 2008)

From Fig. 1, the total length of the piping system is given by equation 4.

L T  H s  L s  L w  L p  L d  L eq (4)

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Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

where: L T = Total length of the piping system, H s = Suction height, L s = Total pipe length on

slope, L eq = Total equivalent pipe length, L w = Total pipe length on berm width, L p = Total pipe

length on pit floor, and L d = Pipe length at delivery end.

3.3 Total Head of Pump

The total head of a pump is the maximum vertical lift in height at which a pump can no longer
exert enough pressure to move water. At this maximum point, the flow rate is zero and the pump
is said to have reached its “shut-off” head pressure. The relationship between the Head (H)
necessary to move fluid in pipes and the discharge rate (Q) is given by equation 5.

2
 Q 
Total Head, H  H T  R   (5)
 3600

where: H T = Total depth of pit to the suction point in sump (m), R = Pipe factor (s2/m3), and Q =
Total discharge rate, (m3/hr). The pipe factor, R, is obtained from equation 6:

8  L  Leq 
R 4 
  1 (6)
 gd  d
2
d 

where: R = Pipe factor (s2/m3), g = Acceleration due to gravity (m/s2), λ = Darcy friction factor
(dimensionless), d = Internal pipe factor (m), L = Total length of the connected pipes (m), and
L eq = Total equivalent pipe length. Darcy’s friction factor is obtained from the Moody Chart.

With R and HT, values for H and the corresponding Q are generated. These values are plotted
with H as the ordinate and Q as the abscissa to obtain the Piping System Curve. The Piping
System Curve is superimposed on a Standard Pump Characteristic Curve (Fig. 2) to select a
suitable pump for the dewatering system (Anon, 2008). The intersection of the two curves gives
the operating parameters of the pump, thus, Operating Head, Operating Discharge Rate,
Operating Power, and the Operating Efficiency of the pump.

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Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

While the values of certain parameters for a dewatering system design were assumed, available
values were also picked from some surface mining companies around Tarkwa - a major mining
town in Ghana (Appendix 1). These values were used to design a dewatering system for a
hypothetical open pit mine.

Fig. 2 Standard Axial Flow Centrifugal Pump Performance Curve with Superimposed
Pump Piping System Curve

4 Results And Discussions

The piping system curve was superimposed on standard axial, radial and mixed flow centrifugal
pump characteristic curves. The operating points obtained from each of these curves were
compared. The axial flow centrifugal pump characteristic curve gave the best operating
parameters. It has an operating head of 114 m, an operating discharge rate of 373 m3/hr, and
power of 22 kW/hr. The depth of the pit to the suction point of the pump is 106 m (Appendix 1).
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Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

An operating head of 114 m indicates that the pump selected can be used to lift the water from
the sump effectively. However, as the pit gets deeper (more than 114 m); a new pump with
suitable operating parameters (head) must be selected to handle the dewatering system.
Moreover, the pump has a discharge rate of 373 m3/hr. This discharge rate is greater than the rate
of water inflow (337 m3/hr) into the pit. The pump is therefore adequate to handle the water
inflow into the sump. An efficiency of 92% is highly acceptable. This efficiency is provided by
an optimum input power of 22 kW/hr. An increase in the pump power will either increase or
decrease the efficiency of the pump, depending on the frictional and mechanical losses in the
piping system. However, any power below 22 kW/hr will not be able to drive the pump to
achieve the desired operational parameters. If the power is significantly greater than 22 kW/hr,
the operating cost of the dewatering system will considerably increase.

5 Conclusions
The main objective of this paper is to provide a systematic approach on how to properly design
an effective and efficient dewatering system for an open pit mine. All the major sources of “pit
water” have been identified. The procedure for determining the total length of piping system as
well as the head of the pump has also been discussed. Axial, radial and mixed flow centrifugal
pumps are available for use. The analysis show that an axial flow centrifugal pump characteristic
curve which gave the best operating parameters is best suited for the dewatering system in the
open pit. The axial flow centrifugal pump has an operating head of 114 m, an operating
discharge rate of 373 m3/hr, an operating efficiency of 92% and power of 22 kW/hr.

References

Afum, O. B. (2008), “A Design of an Open Pit Dewatering System at Ambassador Bright

Goldfields Limited”, Unpublished BSc. Project Report, University of Mines and Technology
(UMaT), Tarkwa, Ghana, 39 pp.

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Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

Amponsah, Y. (2004), “The Procedure for Dewatering Open Pit Mines at Stero Goldfields
Limited”, Unpublished BSc. Project Report, University of Mines and Technology (UMaT),
Tarkwa, 42 pp.

Anon. (2008), “Standard Performance Curve of a Centrifugal Axial Flow Pump”,

www.gouldspumps.com.

Asiedu-Asante S. K. (2005), “Mine Drainage”, BSc Lecture Notes (Unpublished), University of

Mines and Technology, UMaT, Tarkwa, pp. 1 – 27.

Warner R. C. (1992), “Design and Management of Water and Sediment Control System”,
Mining Engineering Handbook, 2nd ed., (H. L. Hartman, snr. ed), Society of Mining,
Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., Littleton, Colorado, pp. 1164 – 1166.

Appendix 1

Parameters for Designing a Dewatering System

No. Parameter Value
1 Hydraulic gradient, I (dh/dl), 0.0045
2 Coefficient of permeability, K (mm/s) 2.4000
3 Run-off coefficient, C 0.4000
4 Rainfall intensity, I (mm/hr) 5.3200
2
5 Drainage/Watershed area, (m ) 5870.0
6 Pit floor area, (m2) (assumed) 4800.0
7 Suction height, Hs, (m) (assumed) 6.0000
8 Total pipe length on berm width, Lw, (m) 50.000
9 Total pipe length on pit floor, Lp, (m) 18.000
10 Total pipe length on slope 100.00
11 Pipe length at delivery end, Ld, (m) 200.00
12 Total equivalent length, Leq, (m) 110.00
13 Total length of the piping system, LT, (m) 484.00
14 Total depth of pit to the suction point in sump, HT, (m) 106.00

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 Proceedings of the first biennial UMaT International Conference on Mining & Mineral Processing, “Expanding the
Frontiers of Mining Technology”, Tarkwa, Ghana, 4 th – 7th August, 2010.

15 Relative density of liquid to be pumped, γ 1.0310

16 Working hours of pump, (hrs) 20.000
17 Internal diameter of pipe, (m) 0.2500
18 Fluid velocity in pipe, (m/s) 108.00
Note: Pipe material used is polythene

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