Assessment of mine water solid phase impact on section pumps performance in the development of kimberlite ores

Despite innovations in ALROSA’s (PJSC) mining and processing complexes under the updated strategy for economic development, practice shows that in recent few years the operating costs of the section pumps at the Udachny underground mine’s main drainage have increased significantly. Such an increase could be the result of a concentration of mechanical impurities in the mine water. This study is aimed at the integrated assessment of the impact of mechanical impurities concentration in mine water on the performance of the Udachny underground mine’s main drainage section pumps. It is also aimed at studying the feasibility of sinking additional inclined clarifying working-reservoirs. The target goal was achieved by means of visual, analytical, statistical, and other types of research in determining the impact of the concentration of mechanical impurities in mine water on the performance indicators of section pumps of the kimberlite mine’s underground drainage facilities. The integrated studies showed that the concentration of mechanical impurities in mine water is the key factor in determining the overhaul life and electricity demand of pumping equipment. The Udachny underground mine’s main drainage section pumps overhaul life can be calculated as a linear function of their delivery rates at the moment of taking-down for overhaul. This function is reliably described by empirical expression Q = -7.5X6 + 326.67, where X6 is the averaged mechanical impurities concentration in the mine water. Calculations showed that reducing the concentration of mechanical impurities in mine water from 17 to 4 g/l would decrease the annual operating costs of the Udachny underground mine’s main drainage section pumps by 100 million rubles.