1. On-site performance
Typical symptoms on site
- The pumping station must operate continuously during the rainy season, but the backup power and production line are shared.
- There are no separate switching options for tailings pumps, water treatment or critical ventilation equipment.
- After a power outage, whether to restore crushing or drainage first requires temporary decision-making on site.
- It is difficult to restart the pump after being idle for a long time, and you may also encounter pipeline, liquid level and control problems during recovery.
2. Risk causes
Root cause in the power-system design
Many mine sites regard drainage, tailings and safety equipment as auxiliary loads. They are only connected to convenient locations in the early stages of construction and are not planned according to the level of "must keep power protected".
The start-up impact of production loads is large and there are many faults. If key pump stations and safety equipment are mixed together, a trip on the production side may take away the power on the safety side.
Without independent standby generator sets, ATS, fuel assurance, and key spare parts, even if a generator set is on site after an outage, it may not bring critical loads back in time.
3. Scope of influence
Production, fuel, maintenance, safety and environmental risks all grow
- Water accumulates in open pits, underground working surfaces or low-lying areas, making it difficult to restore equipment and roads.
- The shutdown of tailings, water treatment, or environmental equipment may trigger regulatory and community pressure.
- Ventilation, communications, lighting or safety monitoring are powered off, and the site must reduce production or stop work.
- After a pumping station is shut down for a long time, restarting and water drainage recovery will take up more diesel fuel, personnel and time.
4. How to avoid before construction
What to confirm before procurement or expansion
- List drainage, tailings, water treatment, ventilation, communications and security monitoring as critical loads.
- Confirm how long each critical load is allowed to be out of power, and whether automatic switching is required during rainy seasons or at night.
- Plan independent backup power, ATS, fuel range, weatherproof power distribution and spare parts packages for critical pumping stations and safety loads.
- Regularly conduct switching tests and operation records to avoid discovering that the backup system cannot be brought up until there is a real power outage.
5. On-site confirmation information
Site information needed for an engineering review
- List of dewatering pumps, tailings pumps, water treatment, ventilation and safety equipment.
- Pump head, flow rate, motor power, starting method and control box photos.
- Rainy season water volume, minimum allowable liquid level, acceptable power outage time and on-site duty methods.
- Environmental photos of existing standby units, ATS, fuel tanks, distribution cabinets and pumping stations.
