Gympie Gold Mine Dewatering

Abstract

This paper presents a concept-through-completion description of the Gympie Gold Dewatering Project, which entailed the extraction of over 1600 megalitres of mine water from depths up to 600 metres. The system comprised submersible pumps in an in-line configuration, suspended from the surface; making it the deepest suspended mine dewatering system in Australia, possibly the world. Installation of the pumps in the existing small timber-lined shafts required clearing of shaft blockages by manual and remote methods. The mine water was discharged in the nearby Mary River, part of the environmentally sensitive Mary River valley. Permission to discharge the high salinity water was given by the Queensland Government's Water Quality Council after extensive consultations. The successful completion of the dewatering was achieved in just twelve months.

The dewatering has enabled the BHP Gold Mines/Devex Joint Venture to proceed further with underground exploration in an area that historically yielded over one million ounces of gold.