Mine Services
Our mining team provides specialist engineering services in underground geotechnical design, mine dewatering and underground infrastructure, and hydraulic ore hoisting.
Working independently, or in conjunction with other mine design service providers, our team provides unique capabilities in these specialist areas, drawing on decades of operational experience of designing systems for challenging conditions. We understand the risks and high standards required to work underground. From studies to detailed design and commissioning, we are experienced in developing technological solutions to meet our client’s needs.
Geotechnical Design
Our geotechnical and barricade design teams can work independently or alongside the backfill team to ensure that the mining design optimises production and meets our client’s requirements.
Mine Dewatering
Dewatering of underground and open pit mines requires that large volumes of water be pumped at high pressures. It also often requires solid-liquid separation in underground clarifiers and management of the solid waste by filtration before pumping the clean water to surface and disposing of the filtered solids.
Hydraulic Ore Hoisting
We have completed numerous studies and designs for hydraulic hoisting systems that use high pressure pumps, or pressure exchange systems, to pump crushed ore to the surface. Hydraulic hoisting is especially suited for supplemental hoisting of finer material when the traditional hoisting is operating at peak capacity.
NOTABLE PROJECTS
Mine Services Projects from around the world
Hydraulic hoisting is not only suited to new shafts but is ideally suited to providing supplementary hoisting capacity to existing shafts that have reached the skip hoisting capacity limit. The main advantage for new shafts is the potential to significantly simplify underground rock handling and transportation. We completed an in-depth investigation on the requirements for a successful hydraulic hoisting installation on South African platinum mines and concluded that hydraulic hoisting is technically feasible and financially attractive for these operations. (Van den Berg, G. and R. Cooke (2005) “Hydraulic Hoisting Technology for Platinum Mines”, Platinum Adding Value Conference, SAIMM, Sun City, October 2004 - also published in The Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, vol 105, No 5, pp 323 – 332, 2005.)
We conducted a detailed feasibility study for the vertical hydraulic hoisting of 0.9 Mt/year of ore from a depth of 2300 m to the surface process plant.
We conducted the feasibility study and provided a detailed design of a new underground mine dewatering and pumping system for this client. The design included lamella thickening and positive displacement pumping to treat and then remove 190 m³/h of water from 800 m below surface.
We completed the detailed engineering to extend the mine service water supply system at the Neves Corvo mine in Portugal. The extension provided service water to the lower levels of the mine as part of the Zine Expansion Project and included pressure reducing stations to ensure the pressure remained safe as static head increased in the lower areas of the mine. The design included distribution valving and pipe supports.
