Water management of underground aquifers is very important. There are three concepts that are very important when dealing with this problem. Water influx is the uncontrolled inflow of groundwater into underground workings. An aquifer is defined as a porous geological structure that contains a large volume of groundwater. Lastly, a fault zone is a discontinuity in the crust due to fractures and serves as a conduit, forming hazardous hydraulic connections between aquifers and underground mine workings (Song et al., 2024).
In the case when underground mine intersects any aquifer or fault zone, the natural groundwater circulation is largely disturbed. Fault zones change the stress distribution and stability of rock masses. All these factors increase the risk of the water inrush accidents, therefore, the structural analysis is very important for mine safety (Wang et al., 2023). Therefore, the operators should study the hydrogeological environment prior to the intersection of these water-bearing structures.
Proper assessment requires extensive testing procedures. Surface or underground exploratory drilling assists in the identification of aquifers, aquicludes, and open jointing. Current assessment practices employ transient analysis methods – including diagnostic fracture injection test – used to establish fluid pressure, permeability, and fracture width (Gray, 2024). Moreover, direct piezometric measurement is necessary because flow measurement alone might lead to inaccurate information concerning subsurface hydrostatic pressures.
Next, field data need to be analyzed in numerical models and risk assessment. The software modeling three-dimensional groundwater flow assesses complicated hydrogeological processes, thus defining the requirements for dewatering and environmental impacts of such activity (Peksezer-Sayit & Yazicigil, 2022). In addition, multi-criteria risk assessment model analyzes the crucial factors, such as water pressure and crustal stress, thus properly mapping water inrush risks throughout the whole mining site (Yuan et al., 2024).
Water management is very much dependent on proper prevention. The two ways of dealing with groundwater problems include draining the water, blocking the path or the source of water, and avoiding the hazard (Gray, 2024). Curtain grouting is an effective technique used to seal the passage and control the source of water, thereby minimizing the inflow dangers in fractured rock formations (Yuan et al., 2024). Otherwise, the mining company could drill many dewatering wells in the area.
In the end, controlling the ground water effectively is dependent upon combining accurate geological analysis and engineering solutions. Combining testing, modeling, and intervention methods helps to ensure that operations are not disrupted. Mining engineers can monitor structural faults and water pressure underground so as to manage the risks involved in aquifers.
References
Gray, I. (2024). Dealing with groundwater in underground mining. Deep Mining 2024: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Deep and High Stress Mining, 1433–1452. https://doi.org/10.36487/acg_repo/2465_94
Peksezer-Sayit, A., & Yazicigil, H. (2022). Assessment of dewatering requirements and dewatering well design for an open pit coal mine in Central Anatolia. Mine Water and the Environment, 41, 748–763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-022-00877-4
Song, Y., Guo, J., Li, F., Wang, J., Ma, F., Wu, G., & Li, G. (2024). Investigation into factors controlling groundwater evolution in mining areas with an integrated approach. Heliyon, 10, e38860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38860
Wang, D., Sui, W., & Ji, Z. (2023). Fault complexity degree in a coal mine and the implications for risk assessment of floor water inrush. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 15. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2023.2293464
Yuan, S., Han, G., Liu, D., & Zhang, A. (2024). Multicriteria risk assessment of water inrush in underground mines with large-scale curtain grouting: A mine disaster risk reduction strategy. Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 15. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2024.2409200
