SECTION2

Drainage Control for Surface Mines

13
The Design of
Mine Dewatering Systems in Poland
by Jacek S. Libicki, Chief Geologist,
Poltegor,
Wroclaw, Poland

INTRO DU CT ION

Poland belongs to the group of countries that has rela-

tively rich deposits of useful minerals. So mining and
minerals processing are among the most developed branches of
the national economy.

Because of the geological character of the ore deposits,

and especially their various depths, both underground mining
and surface mining are widely developed. (Figure No. 1)

Bituminous coal and copper, lead, and zinc ores are pri-
marily extracted from underground mines. In total, underground
production of all minerals reaches 250,000,000 tons per year.
Of this total about 200,000,000 tons is bituminous coal.
Underground mining is expected to increase by about 50
percent in the next 15 years.

Lignite, sulphur, stowing sands, and various clays as well

as stones and aggregates for many purposes are extracted from
surface mines. The total amount of useful minerals mined by
surface methods is about 500,000,000 tons per year, and this
requires removal of more than 200,000,000 cubic meters of
overburden. In these totals lignite, with production of
40,000,000 tons per year and removal of 130,000,000
tons of overburden, is number one. Although the total
304 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES
 mill. tons
1000

900
o•oo- -

800

700
SURFACE
600 MINES

soo
0
m SURFACE
(/)
G5 400
MINES
z
0
""Tl
0
300
m DEEP
~
'--i
m 200 MINES
::IJ
DEEP
z
G)
(/)
MINES
100
~m
;;::
(/) 0
z 1978 1990
-0
0
s;: Fig. 1. AMOUNTS OF MINERALS MINED IN POLAND
z
0
Co>
0
UI
 production of sands, gravels, and stones for constructions
is greater, production is from so many small and shallow
local operations that it is less important. In addition,
with the fast development of lignite surface mining, annual
production is expected to reach 80,000,000 tons in 1985
and about 140,000,000 tons in 1990-1995. This will require
removal of 300,000,000 cubic meters of overburden per year
and 700,000,000 cubic meters per year of overburden, respec-
tively. Also the depth of surface mining operations will
have increased to 300 meters during that time.

Such large mining operations are almost always conducted ir

water saturated strata--everywhere in Poland the groundwater
table is just below ground level--make the dewatering of mine~
one of the principal challenges in mining operation design.
Especially in surface mining, where the mined seam as well as
the whole overburden has to be drained in advance of mining
operations, the problem of dewatering is a major factor.

GEOLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POLISH MINES

To understand the mine dewatering systems, it is necessary

to know the natural conditions and structure of deposits
being mined.

In underground mines, the strata that determine the

hydrologic situation in the mine are the seams and
the footwall and hanging wall beds. This is because only the:
layers are cut by the mining operations; less important are
the beds laying above. In surface mines, however, the whole
overburden section is cut through, and all formations play a
similar role in water conditions of a mine.

Underground Mines
Bituminous Coal. Poland's bituminous coal is mined (1) from
the Carboniferous formation at the depth of 300 to 800 meters
below ground level. (Figure No. 2) This formation is con-
stituted of sandstones and shales (with coal seams) of a
total thickness of several hundred meters. Carboniferous
beds (Figure No. 2) are covered by the Triassic, Tertiary,
and Quaternary formations, but sometimes directly by Quaterna
Age sands. The amount of water inflow to mines is dependent
on the amount and intensity of fractures occurring in the
hanging wall formations and also on the character of rocks
overlaying the Carboniferous series. The permeability

306 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES

 CJ
:!'.
IO

!"'
-I
~ D
.~:
:: :
[]: :
_:_.:_.:.
')~..:.~
ITI -<
-u ~ n
o n a
"'a "'a
Vl l> -< ::> ::>
---1 r- a. a.
Vl ::c 0"'
::>
3: d "'
z- :::0
0
~ Q
IT)
0
~J;;
CD
-< 5 ....
'. .
c Q
, .
2 -
CJ n
f'Tl l>
:::0 r-
0 ·.t.·
m Q Vl
(/)
G)
:::0
o
ITI
n :::~
z c -I
z -
0
""T1
0
m
~
'-i
m
CJ
3:
2
ITI
~
Vl

0
.,,
~
3
D8J
!:!.
"',,..
::0
Vl CD
c
zGl -I
c "'
0"'
3 ~-

3: ::>
::>
0
"'
(/)

~
-I
z0 "' c
"'n
m c 0
s:
(/)
Vl a

z n
0
-0 l>
0 r-
~
z
0

"'.....
0
 coefficient of Carboniferous sandstones is in the 0.005 to
1.0 meter per 24 hours range, and water inflows are between
1 cubic meter per minute (minimum) and 25 cubic meters per
minute (maximum) in any mine.

Copper Ores. The copper ores occur in Poland in the Permian

limestones and dolomites (1), which are overlain by Triassic
sandstones and Tertiary formations represented by sands,
clays, and lignite seams. The Quaternary series have been
deposited on the top. The ore bearing limestones and dolo-
mites--from which at the depth of 700 to 1,000 meters' below
ground level the ore is mined--have coefficient of permeabilit
of 0.03 to 0.85 meter per 24 hours. Their permeability depenc
on how much the junctions and cavities have been filled with
secondary material. The inflow of water to particular mines
is 3 to 20 cubic meters per minute, and it is mostly a result
of the character of rocks overlaying the limestone-dolomite
series.

Zinc and Lead Ores. These ores are found in Poland in dolomi1
and limestone formations of the Triassic Age (Figure No. 3),
which constitute the gentle synclinal forms. This formation
is a very saturated aquifer due to fractures and cavities of
karstic origin. The permeability coefficient of these strata
is 1 to 24 meters per 24 hours. This aquifer is fed with
water percolating from Quaternary sands of river valleys. Thi
inflow of water to the 150-meter deep underground mines is
between 20 and 100 cubic meters per minute. The local inrush
of water sometimes reaches 50 cubic meters per minute from
one face.

Surf ace Mines

The hydrogeological conditions in surface mines are very

important and their detailed investigation is required for
proper operations design. This knowledge is of equal impor-
tance for the mined beds, the overburden, and the underlaying
beds.

Lignite. All deposits of lignite in Poland are of the Tertia

Age and could be roughly divided into three hydrogeological
groups (Figure No. 4):

First group--one flat lignite seam (impermeable), 6 to 15

meters thick, covered by 25 to 75 meters of overburden, of
which 70 to 80 percent are Tertiary and Quaternary clays and
20 to 30 percent are sands of the same age (in the form of

308 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES

 ~
~gravel ~clay

~ limestone and marl

Fig. 3. HYDROGEOLOGICAL SECTION OF LEAD AND ZINC DEPOSITS

MINED BY UNDERGROUND MINES.

.. . . . . .. '.

TYPE 1 .. . . . . . .... . ~ . ....

~I
~sand ~clay TYPE 3

l=::=J lignite

Fig.4. TYPICAL HYOROGEOLOGICAL SECTION OF LIGNITE DEPOSITS

MINEO BY SURFACE MINES.

DESIGN OF DEWATERING SYSTEMS IN POLAND 309

 closed lenses or erosion troughs). The lignite seam is under-
lain by saturated sands, 20 meters to 50 meters thick,
containing subartesian water under pressure of 3 to 8 bars,
and characterized by the permeability coefficient of 3 to 5
meters per 24 hours. The groundwater inflow to these mines
is 30 to 100 cubic meters per minute.
Second group--multiseam basins in which overburden, the
underlaying beds, and the intercalations consist of clays
(70 to 80 percent) and of sands (20 to 30 percent) in the form
of closed lenses. The sands' lenses contain static ground-
water under pressure depending on the depth. Thickness of
lignite seams is 5 to 40 meters, the depth of mining reaches
160 meters; groundwater inflow to these mines is 30 to 40 cubic
meters per minute.
Third group--one or two lignite seams, 20 to 70 meters
thick, are covered with sandy overburden, 100 to 200 meters
thick and underlain with fine sands. Where lignite is
deposited in tectonic trenches, the seams adjoin highly per-
meable limestones of Jurassic Age. The coefficient of
permeability of overburden is 8 to 20 meters per 24 hours;
of Jurassic limestones about 10 meters per 24 hours; and of
Tertiary fine sands 1 to 3 meters per 24 hours. The natural
groundwater table is just below ground level and so the
hydrostatic pressure reached 30 bars; the inflow of ground-
water to these mines, when drawdown reaches 300 meters, depth,
is about 400 cubic meters per minute.

Sulphur. The sulphur deposit is found (1) in the Miocene

limestone beds (Figure No. 5). The upper part of overburden
consists of the saturated Quaternary sands, 5 to 20 meters
thick, being in contact with the large river Vistula; the
lower part consists of the Tertiary clays, 50 to 70 meters
thick. The sulphur occurs in fractured and saturated lime-
stones characterized by coefficient of permeability of 40
meters per 24 hours. The limestones are underlain by fine sand
(permeability coefficient 3 to 4 meters per 24 hours), 20 to
70 meters thick, where groundwater is under pressure of 3 to
8 bars. The inflow of groundwater to the mine is about
30 cubic meters per minute and TDS of these waters is in the
5 grams per cubic decimeter range.

Stowing Sands. As stowing sand--for backfilling of underground

mine openings under cities--the Quaternary sands with a grain
size of 0.25 to 0.50 millimeter are used. The deposits of
these sands are always connected with river valleys (Figure
No. 6). Thickness of these deposits (and the depth of mining
310 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES
 200 200

150

Q ..
~clay

Q sandstone
~limestone

Fig. 5. HYDROGEOLOGICAL SECflON OF SULPHUR DEPOSITS MINED

BY SURFACE MINES.

E
0
C')

l"'"'"'I boulder clay EZJ. son d

I -1 clay

Fig.6. HYDROGEOLOGICAL SECTION OF STOWING SAND DEPOSITS

MINED BY SURFACE MINES.

DESIGN OF DEWATERING SYSTEMS IN POLAND 311

 operations) is 20 to 40 meters, and the sands are covered with
thin topsoil only. Permeability coefficient of sands is 15 to
25 meters per 24 hours and the free groundwater table should
be lowered 15 to 30 meters for mining operations. The ground-
water inf lows to these surface operations are 20 to 60 cubic
meters per minute.

Clays. Clays mined for various ceramic and industrial purposes

are found most often in small deposits of Tertiary or Quater-
nary Age. The thickness of overburden is almost always within
3 meters and the depth of operations does not exceed 30 meters.
Groundwater occurs in small closed lenses of sand, and the
inflow to particular mines does not exceed 1 to 2 cubic meters
per minute.

Rocks and Aggregates. These operations (generally small) are

conducted mostly in unsaturated beds. In the quarries, where
operations are being conducted below groundwater table, the
inflow of water coming from fractures does not exceed 3 cubic
meters per minute. The gravel pits below the groundwater
table are operated with dredging equipment.

MINING OPERATION SYSTEMS

To better understand the design of mine dewatering systems,

it is necessary to know the extraction methods used. These,
together with hydrogeological conditions, influence the
design of mine dewatering systems.

Underground Mines

The production level of the main workings is generally

accessible by vertical shafts that are 100 to 1,000 meters
deep and 4.0 to 8.5 meters in diameter. Shaft sinking in soft
ground is mostly done by hand, with blasting in hard rocks.
The casing is installed simultaneously or in sections. In
saturated beds the drawdown of groundwater by wells equipped
with submersible pumps or a solidification or freezing is
used. Close to the shaft bottom, chambers (among them the
chamber for the pumping station) and water reservoirs
(galleries) are driven. When ready, the galleries for the
first mining are driven with the use of blasting and mechan-
ical loading equipment. These headings are the most hazardous
in difficult hydrogeological conditions.

312 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES

 Various methods of extraction are used in bituminous coal
mining depending on:
- Depth of operations.
- Thickness of the coal seam to be mined.
- Roof and floor conditions.
- Inclination of coal seam.
- Minability of coal.
- Gas occurrences.

The seams up to 3 meters thick, flat or with small inclina-

tion, are mined with 200- to 250-meter longwalls and roof
caving, when there are no special requirements to protect
the land surface. Where a seam is dipping more than 30°, the
"step by step" method with a dry backfilling is employed; the
operation progresses from lower to upper levels.

The thick seams (above 3 meters), flat or gently inclined,

formerly were mined by the room and pillar method. Recently
the longwall method has been used. The seam is mined in
3.5-meter thick benches, using hydraulic backfilling or caving
with an artificial roof; the operation progresses from the
upper to lower benches. The steep and thick seams are always
mined with the use of hydraulic backfilling.

In underground copper, zinc, and lead mines, the room and

pillar method, with various modifications, is used. Blasting
and caving are generally employed; backfilling is occasionally
required to protect sensitive buildings on the surface above
from subsidence.

Surface Mines
Lignite, sulphur, stowing sands and clays, as well as
overburden of these deposits, are loose soils. So these use-
ful minerals and the overburden are mined with bucket-wheel
and bucket-chain excavators. The material is directly loaded
on belt conveyors or sometimes on railway cars. Blasting is
rarely necessary in these deposits; but, in quarry operations,
blasting, shovels, draglines, and loaders and trucks for
haulage are widely in use.

The stowing sands, clays, and rock deposits are covered

with only a thin topsoil overburden. In these mines the
extraction of the useful mineral begins right after removal
of the topsoil (which is stored for further reclamation).
However, in lignite surface mines (and also in the sulphur
mine), where overburden is 30 to 130 meters thick, the large
DESIGN OF DEWATERING SYSTEMS IN POLAND 313
 operations to make the "opening cut" (to uncover the lignite
seam) have to be executed. The volume of overburden (clays
and sands) to be removed, and transported outside the mine,
in these operations ranges from 30,000,000 to 120,000,000
cubic meters. This requires two to four years. When the
lignite seam is uncovered, simultaneous lignite mining and
overburden removal begins. And when mining faces extend a
fair distance, the backfilling of waste into the open pit can
start. This operation--consisting of several overburden
working levels and one to three working levels in lignite--
moves through the deposit in a parallel or fan-shaped system.
The output of one open pit, working as above, is 2,000,000 to
20,000,000 tons per year of lignite and 10,000,000 to
50,000,000 cubic meters per year of waste. During the next
two years, a mine with an output of 40,000,000 tons per year
of lignite and 120,000,000 cubic meters per year of overburden
from one pit will be completed.

Such a magnitude of operations, with their depth, lithology

of rocks, and the fact that mining extends deep below the
groundwater table, make it necessary to have the dewatering
system ready in advance.

DEWATERING SYSTEMS DESIGN AND THE DESIGN REVISION

In Poland, the design of mine dewatering systems is done

by specialized design and consulting companies. They are:

- The Central Design Office in Katowice, for underground

mining of bituminous coal.
- The Cuprum in Wroclaw, for underground mining of ores.
- The Poltegor in Wroclaw, for all surface mines.

The large mine dewatering systems are designed in three

phases:

(i) Feasibility studies are made for new mines. In these

studies, estimate of expected groundwater inflow must
be made and general ideas of multialternative technical
solutions should be presented and compared from the
financial and technical point of view. Also the out-
lines of the required hydrogeological investigation
needed for a detail design should be proposed. These
feasibility studies are submitted for revision and
approval by the company that intends to invest in and
develop the deposits.

314 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES

(ii) Preliminary design should contain the general description
of the entire dewatering system in one (maximum two)
alternative. The inflow of groundwater and the size of
the depression cone outside the mine should be calcu-
lated; the dewatering arrangements should be sited and
selected and the technology of their construction de-
tailed. The required equipment and installations should
be listed as should the number and the specifications
of the staff to be employed; the environmental impacts
and control measures, therefore, have to be presented.
In conclusion, the investment and operational costs,
as well as the timetable of system construction, should
be elaborated, The preliminary design must be approved
by the Ministry that supervises the mining company or,
in the case of a large operation, by the State Commission
for Economical Planning. From the standpoint of environ-
mental protection, the preliminary design of a dewater-
ing system must also be approved by local authorities.
(iii) Technical designs are made for particular installations
or units (Le., draining wells, monitoring wells,
pumping station, sedimentation pond, etc.); they should
contain the detailed location of every element and the
technology of its construction, which is used by the
construction company. These designs must be approved
by the mining company with participation of the con-
struction company, if different.

The above designs are made on the basis of Geological

Reports prepared by the geological company that does the
field prospecting. These Geological Reports (also containing
the resources assessment) must be approved by the National
Geological Administration. For this approval, the design
office's opinion, with a statement that the scope of investi-
gation is sufficient for system design in the related phase,
is required. Other data for dewatering system design
includes the requirements of mining extraction design as well
as the environmental authorities' requirements.

The most significant data are:

(i) Lithologic, tectonic and stratigraphic characteristics

of the strata within the whole basin and in its
surroundings.
(ii) Thickness and extent of aquifers.

DESIGN OF DEWATERING SYSTEMS IN POLAND 315

 (iii) Hydraulic contacts between particular aquifers and
between aquifers and surface water (i.e., lakes and
rivers).
(iv) Permeability and specific yields of aquifers.
(v) The requirements by mining technology, area, and depth
of the groundwater table drawdown.
(vi) Time of drawdown required by mining operations.
(vii) Requirements regarding location, quantity, and quality
of mine drainage discharge.

The data mentioned in (i) to (iv) should be estimated while

making the hydrogeological prospectus and investigation and
should be included in the officially approved Geological
Report mentioned above. The data mentioned in (v) and (vi)
must be provided by the extraction system designers and the
data from (vii) should be given by local water and environ-
mental authorities.

METHOD OF HYDROGEOLOGICAL AND HYDROLOGICAL CALCULATIONS

The goal of the calculations made for dewatering systems

design is to obtain:

- Inflow of ground and precipitation water with time.

- Shape and time of depression cone development.
- Output of particular elements.
- Spacing between draining elements.
- Time needed to draw down the groundwater table.

Depending on the size of the dewatering system and the time

of dewatering, the calculations, based on the assumption of
steady or unsteady flow, are applied (4). In both the above
cases, for small and simple systems, the analytical solutions
of formula derived from classic Dupuit and Theiss equations
are used. For large and complicated systems the modeling
methods are used (4). Until the beginning of the 1970s,
methods based on hydraulic (i.e., Hele-Shaw) and electrical
(ERDA or pattern integrator) analogy were used. Recently the
numerical methods have prevailed. These methods deal with
Boussinesque equation solved on plane with a regular or
irregular discreteness. For calculations, the finite element
or finite difference method with iteration (i.e., Gauss-
Seidel or Galerkin) are applied. The programs are written in
Fortran 1900 language, and Polish third generation computers,
ODRA 13 series, are used.

316 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES

 Depending on quality and credibility of input data (received
mostly from hydrogeological investigations), the results show
± 10 to 20 percent differences compared with the actual re-
sults. For systems with 10 to 400 cubic meters per minute
inflow, this could be assumed satisfactory.

Also quite good results can sometimes be obtained with the

use of very simple calculations based on analogy to the ex-
isting systems proved under similar conditions.

DEWATERING METHODS AND ARRANGEMENTS

In underground mines the main methods of protection against

uncontrolled inrush of groundwater are:

- Protective and safety pillars and shelves.

- Moving and sealing of surface waters.
- Sealing of workings.
- Construction of insulating benches.
Drilling of horizontal drainage holes in advance of
the face progress (to 100 meters long).
- Execution of drainage holes to drawdown the ground-
water or reduce its pressure.
- Vacuum draining holes constructed where quicksand is
found.
- Construction of sealed stoppings.

For continuous removal of water inflow, pumping stations, with

120 percent of reserve in pumps and water reservoirs to hold
a 16-hour inflow, are constructed in the lower level of the
mine,

Cost of dewatering provisions in underground mining is

rather low; it is within 2 percent of total investment and
operational costs.

In lignite surface mines, where the size and scope of

dewatering systems is the largest, the following procedures
are used:

(i) Drainage wells (Figure Nos. 7 and 8) are drilled from

the surface and equipped with submersible pumps; the
diameter of wells is 300 to 1,000 millimeters, and their
depth is 50 to 350 meters. The output of these wells,
depending on aquifer thickness and permeability, is
0.5 to 6.0 cubic meters per minute. In the well casing,

DESIGN OF DEWATERING SYSTEMS IN POLAND 317

 we\15 - e~ternal

Fig.7. SCHEME OF DEWATERING SYSTEM OF ADAMOW SURFACE

LIGNITE MINE.

Fig.8. SCHEME OF DEWATERING SYSTEM OF BELCHATOW SURFACE

LIGNITE MINE.

318 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES

 the lower part (about 10 meters long) serves to keep
the sand grains coming through, the filter section
(which consists of perforated pipes wrapped with gauze
and surrounded with gravel packing) and the upper pipe
part, could be distinguished. The drainage wells are
located around the mine and in internal galleries; the
spacing between wells in galleries is in the 80- to
150-meter range, and the distance between galleries is
200 to 600 meters.
(ii) Underground drainage galleries are drifts in the lignite
seam at about 200-meter spacing. The seam is accessible
through the pits or declines. The drainage system for
the overburden is the holes drilled from the surface.
To drain the under seam aquifer, holes are drilled from
galleries. Both types of drainage holes discharge
groundwater to the galleries by natural forces. The
water runs through the galleries to the underground
pumping station and from there is pumped out onto the
land surface. According to regulations, pumps must
have 120 percent of reserve and must be fed with energy
from two independent sources; water reservoirs must have
enough volume to contain two hours inf low (Figure
Nos. 9 and 10).
(iii) Impermeable diaphragms are constructed where the open
pit cuts the very permeable layers which have contact
with rivers or lakes; these screens are excavated with
shovels or drilling equipment specially designed for
excavations to 30 meters deep and 0.3 to 0.8 meter
wide; the sealing medium is mostly a mixture of special
cement and clays or chemical components.
(iv) Horizontal holes from the slopes as well as drainage
holes which channel groundwater from upper to lower
aquifers are used as supplementary procedures.
(v) Dewatering trenches are excavated within the open pits
to catch rainwater and the remaining groundwater missed
by the above procedures. The water flows through these
trenches to pumping stations; the trenches on the
permanent slopes are lined and on periodic slopes are
made without a casing. The width of the bottom of the
trenches is 0.6 to 1.0 meter, their slope inclination
is 1:1.5 to 1:2.0; their depth is 1.0 to 2.0 meters and
their longitudinal dipping is 1 to 2 meters per
thousand.
(vi) Pumping stations are located in the lowest parts of open
pits as stable or shiftable units, and, according to
Polish regulations, must have 50 to 100 percent of
reserve in pumps and reservoirs for 4-hour retention of

DESIGN OF DEWATERING SYSTEMS IN POLAND 319

 Shaft

Fig.9. SCHEME OF DEWATERING SYSTEM OF KONIN SURFACE

LIGNITE MINE.

01plll
Shafi

Fig.10. SCHEME OF DEWATERING SYSTEM OF TUROW SURFACE

LIGNITE MINE.

320 DRAINAGE CONTROL FOR SURFACE MINES

 total inflow. The inflow is calculated as 24-hour
amount with probability coefficient p = 10 percent.
(Figure No. 11)
(vii) Sedimentation ponds are used to purify mine drainage
from mineral and organic suspension, because this con-
tains 100 to 1,000 ppm of suspended matter. In the
sedimentation ponds of 1- to 3-day retention time, the
reduction of suspended matter concentration is effected
in a natural sedimentation process, down to 50 ppm.
Recently, to improve the effect (below 30 ppm) and to
reduce the size of sedimentation ponds in mines, with
inflow of 50 to 200 cubic meters per minute, flocculents
and also the grass filter process are being introduced.

In surface lignite mines, the combination of all or some

of the above technical means is used. In surface sulphur
mines, only wells and supplementary procedures are used. In
stowing sand and clays surface mines only, the procedures
described in items (v), (vi), and (vii) are used.

For the newly developed lignite mines, the dewatering

systems begin operation one or two years before the heavy
machines start to remove the overburden. During current
operations the dewatering system advances the slopes of the
open pit by about one year.

In surface mines of other useful minerals, such advance

time is shorter.

In Poland, the cost of surface mine dewatering systems is

a factor in about 10 to 25 percent of total investment and
operational cost of lignite mines. In other surface mines,
except sulphur, the percentage is much smaller.

CONCLUSIONS

1. In all mining operations, below the groundwater table, the

proper design of dewatering systems is an indispensable
condition of undisturbed work.
2. The proper design of mine dewatering systems is directly
dependent on the sufficiency and correctness of hydro-
geological recognition.
3. In the underground mines and in open pits dug in hard
rock, the aim of a dewatering system is to protect people
and mine workings against flooding.

DESIGN OF DEWATERING SYSTEMS IN POLAND 321

~
N

0
~
z
Fig.11 SCHEME or MINE WATER DRAINAG[ FROM SURfAC[ MINE
~
m
0
0
....
z
-I
:D
0
r surrounding ditches
sedimen1ation ba:.in
t t
Cl
:D
I

(fJ offtake of polluted waterf>

c

-
:D
""Tl
f)
m
s:
z
m
n--1 ,...., ··~-·
~
(fJ
ot
U.I
e
di~harge of pure >
~
•
waters 1o river 'ii

t~
I

~
I
Pumping :.tt:Jtion

r• well5
to
•
~ excavation
4. In the surface mines operated in loose grounds (sands,
clays, mud), the proper dewatering of overburden, of useful
mineral, and underlying beds is an indispensable factor in
keeping the slopes stable, as well as excavator output and
safety.
5. The design of mine dewatering systems should take into
consideration the wide scope of environmental protection
requirements, especially the quantitative and qualitative
protection of ground and surface water.

REFERENCES

1. Mining Guide Book. Volume 2. Katowice 1975.

2. Jacek Libicki. Hydrogeological Conditions of Lignite

Deposits in Poland and Criteria for Dewatering System
Selection. Second International Symposium, Dubrovnik
1978.

3. Jacek Libicki. Technology of Mine Dewatering Systems.

Guidelines for Design. Poltegor 1972.

4. Zbigniew Burzynski, Lech Jarodzki. Model Forecast of

Hydrogeological Processes in Mine Dewatering Design.
Surface Mining No. 4-5. 1975.

5. Henryk Janiak. The Impact of Lignite Mining on Surface

Water and Means for Its Control. Second U.S.-Polish
Symposium Ksiaz, Poland, 1978.

DESIGN OF DEWATER/NG SYSTEMS IN POI ANn 323