Abstract
Gold mines in South Africa use large volumes of water for cooling and other purposes underground. The mines are often at great depths, for example 3600 metres below surface level. Water piped down the shaft can therefore be at high pressures unless a system of pressure reducing dams or valves is installed. Modern practice is to utilize the high water pressures wherever possible. Examples of the use of water pressure include driving turbines for power generation, moving ore by means of high pressure jets and there is the future possibility of driving mining machinery using the water. The operation and analysis of water reticulation systems is complex owing to the complex distribution system and the number of possible operating conditions. Computer programs for the optimum design of such distribution systems and for the hydraulic analysis of such pipe flow systems have been compiled. The high pressures also pose problems in the design of pipework and equipment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Whillier, A.H., 1980: Refrigeration applied in the cooling of mines. Intl. J. refrig. 3(6) pp.341–346.
Chamber of Mines of South Africa, 1981: Research and development Annual Report.
Sheer, T.J., 1983: Investigations into the use of ice for cooling deep mines. Proceedings of the ‘FRIGAIR’ Symposium, CSIR, Pretoria.
Grosman, D.D., 1981: Optimum Allocation of Mine Service Water Subject to Quality Constraints. MSc (Eng) dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand.
Bernstein, A.H., 1982: Dynamic Programming Optimization of Pipework in Deep Mine Shafts. MSc (Eng) dissertation University of the Witwatersrand.
Holton, M.C., 1982: A Computer Program for the Simulation of Water Reticulation Systems in Gold Mines. MSc (Eng) dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand.
Streeter, V.L., and Wylie, E.B., 1967: Hydraulic transients. McGraw Hill, N.Y.
Stephenson, D., 1981: Pipeline Design for Water Engineers. Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stephenson, D. Distribution of water in deep gold mines in South Africa. International Journal of Mine Water 2, 21–30 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504560
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504560