Water is an essential part of running and maintaining efficient mining operations. Mines are highly dynamic environments subject to frequently changing site conditions, mine plans, seasonal climatic variations as well as various other water-related factors. As a result, sustainable and efficient mine water management operations call for a thorough understanding of existing conditions and for learning from historical data to improve decision-making. DHI helps mining companies adopt an integrated water management strategy for mines to run efficiently with minimal environmental impact.
Our solution includes:
Mine dewatering – Groundwater extraction planning for open-pit dewatering to minimise water volume, time and cost and increase mine profitability
Determining site-wide and watershed scale water balances – Development of deterministic and probabilistic mine water balances to improve water management from the early planning and design phase through operations and ultimately closure
Slope stability evaluation – Creation of high-resolution 3D groundwater flow models to evaluate pit groundwater inflows and pit wall depressurisation under various pit configurations. Insight from such models has proven effective at increasing the reliability of critical pore pressure estimates.
Mine water management optimisation – Automated forecasting and analysis to reduce water management costs, by synchronising dewatering programmes with mine water management from planning to production
Mine closure planning – Impact evaluation of multiple stressors and creating a framework for detailed planning and design to minimise the impact of mine closure and improve tailings stewardship
Water management in lithium mining
One of DHI’s mining projects in 2023 involved implementing the MIKE Mine decision support system for the lithium mining company Eramet to help them better manage their lithium mining operations. ‘With DHI’s solution, Eramet can now create and evaluate their lithium pumping scenarios through a web platform to determine the optimal set-up for maximum lithium production’, says Ferdinand Flechtner, DHI’s Senior Consultant and Product Specialist of MIKE Mine. The system was successfully implemented on Eramet’s Microsoft Azure cloud environment and a Phase 2 contract has already been signed to add functionality to the platform by connecting it to the mine’s data historian.
Environmental assessment in Peru
In 2023, DHI continued to serve as a key advisor in facilitating the environmental permit acquisition for one of the largest copper mines in the world as part of the USD 2 billion Antamina Replacement project. This permit allows modifications to extend the operational life of the current mine for eight years from 2028 to 2036. Pablo Saez Martinez, Project Manager and Water Resources Specialist, says, ‘DHI conducted an extensive environmental assessment as well as offered expert advisory services in hydrology and water management. And collaborating closely with Stantec, we presented the study before regulatory bodies.’