Mining contractor Cementation Africa asserts that the most effective way to manage groundwater inflows in underground mines is to address dewatering design early in the project lifecycle. The company says it uses hydrogeological data to design integrated systems aligned with mine infrastructure and operational requirements.

“Hydrogeological studies form part of the mine’s initial feasibility work, with drill holes to understand what volumes the mine is likely to encounter,” explains Cementation Africa study manager: mine engineering John Goulding. “Cementation Africa, as a leading underground mining contractor, uses this data as the basis for planning a dewatering strategy in a multidisciplinary engineering process that intersects mine design, shaft infrastructure, power systems and operational logistics.”

Cementation Africa has built a reputation for addressing dewatering challenges through an integrated engineering approach that links design, construction and operational realities underground, he says.

Goulding adds that early planning is critical to ensuring that pump stations, and settling and storage infrastructure are correctly positioned and sized to manage expected inflows. It also enables engineers to incorporate flexibility into the system, allowing it to respond as mining conditions evolve.

Cementation Africa project engineer: mine engineering Louis du Plessis notes that the company is often involved at an early stage, supporting clients with feasibility-level engineering and option assessments.

“By conducting studies and technical assessments to guide mines’ decision-making, we can help them determine the most appropriate approach before committing to major infrastructure investments,” Du Plessis says. He emphasises that the complexity of underground dewatering requires solutions tailored to each mine’s specific infrastructure and operating conditions.

The practical placement of infrastructure is also seen as an important consideration as pump stations need to be located where they can be accessed safely and maintained efficiently, while pipelines must be routed through shafts and haulages without interfering with other critical services such as power cables and ventilation systems.

“Even with studies and modelling, there remains considerable uncertainty about the volumes of water that miners will encounter during development and mining,” Goulding says. “This makes it vital to design dewatering strategies that can adapt to varying conditions rather than simply operating at a fixed capacity.”

Systems may include spare pumping capacity,  to accommodate this uncertainty,  and configurations can be designed to allow water to be transferred between different levels of the mine as operations deepen, to ensure that dewatering remains effective throughout the life of the mine.