Mine Dewatering & Depressurisation

In simple terms, dewatering is the evaluation of water management requirements (inflows, water control and removal) to provide safe and / or workable floor conditions for excavations or mining operations developed below the water table. Depressurisation is focused on pressures and triggers for pressure development which might impact geotechnical slope performance and design requirements.

Hydrogeological understanding is fundamental to both, and a background and experience base in geoscience is highly advantageous due to the need to understand complex geological and structural pathways, groundwater storages and interactions between them and the excavated void. This is especially the case in fractured rock terrain where pathways and pressure response can be highly variable and difficult to predict.