Project Background:

The project is located in Kolwezi, Lualaba Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and serves a globally renowned open-pit copper mine. As mining operations advance, the mine’s open-pit drainage system is confronted with severe operational challenges, necessitating an efficient, reliable, and environmentally resilient drainage solution capable of withstanding extreme conditions.

At the bottom of a certain open-pit mine, the drainage medium is not clean water but rather a highly concentrated sediment‑water mixture containing substantial amounts of rock and soil debris, mineral powders, silt, and other impurities generated during mining operations. During mining, large quantities of loose rock fragments are produced; under the combined influence of rainfall runoff, groundwater infiltration, and disturbances caused by surface‑mine activities, these fragments continuously enter the standing water at the pit floor, resulting in extremely high suspended‑sediment concentrations. Moreover, the particle-size distribution of the sediments is complex, encompassing both coarse gravel and crushed rock as well as fine silt and clay‑like particles.

In addition to the harsh environmental conditions, another key challenge is the extremely shallow effective depth of standing water at the bottom of the pit. Specifically, the water level generally falls short of 1 meter, with some low-lying areas reaching only a few tens of centimeters. Moreover, influenced by the pit’s topographic undulations, the water is distributed in a scattered pattern, with no distinct centralized catchment area.

In the original drainage scheme, the center‑opening pumps were designed for conventional open‑air drainage scenarios and were permanently installed at predetermined locations along the pit’s perimeter, without adequately accounting for the unique operating conditions posed by the extremely shallow water level at the pit bottom. Due to excessively low water levels, the suction lift becomes too great, preventing water from being drawn in and causing the pump to experience cavitation. Inside the pump, the lack of water leads to dry running of the packing or mechanical seal, which not only generates loud, no‑load noise but also results in overheating and damage to critical components such as the mechanical seal, packing, impeller, and bearings, requiring maintenance personnel to perform frequent… During shutdown inspections and maintenance, even after multiple adjustments to the equipment’s positioning, the issue of excessive suction lift could not be resolved, ultimately leading to the complete decommissioning of the conventional pump unit.

Addressing the aforementioned core pain points, Changsha Daoyuan Intelligent Fluid Technology Co., Ltd., leveraging its decades of deep R&D expertise in the fluid machinery field and taking into account the actual on-site operating conditions of open-pit mining pits, has, after multiple field surveys, operational simulations, and technical validations, custom‑designed and delivered an innovative floating‑type hydraulic pump unit system for this mine. This solution fundamentally overcomes the limitations of conventional shore‑based pumping, with “close alignment to operating conditions, efficient adaptation, and stable reliability” at its core, perfectly matching the unique working environment characterized by shallow water levels and high‑concentration sediment at the pit bottom. The specific implementation plan and its advantages are as follows:

The core floating hydraulic pump unit features an integrated float design, allowing it to be directly floated on the surface of standing water at the bottom of the mining pit, eliminating the need for fixed installation on the shore or at anchor points on the pit floor, thereby completely… It overcomes the limitation of low water levels on the high suction lift of conventional pumps.

The integrated power station is equipped with high-performance diesel generator sets, which serve as the power core of the entire system, enabling integrated and coordinated operation of power supply and pressurized fluid delivery. During operation, the diesel engine, on the one hand, supplies continuous, robust hydraulic power to the submerged floating‑type hydraulic pump unit via high‑pressure hydraulic lines, ensuring efficient operation and stable pumping and discharge.

On the other hand, the diesel engine directly drives the mid‑open pump within the power station, providing secondary pressurization to the high‑concentration sand–water mixture pumped up by the floating pump unit. This effectively increases the slurry‑transport pressure, overcomes pipeline friction and elevation differences during conveyance, and ensures that the slurry is delivered smoothly and efficiently to the designated discharge point, thereby completely resolving the longstanding issue of stagnant water in the mining pit that could not be drained in a timely manner.

Intelligent Monitoring and Convenient Operations & Maintenance: The system is equipped with an intelligent monitoring module that continuously tracks key parameters such as pump‑unit operating status, flow rate, head, and hydraulic pressure. In the event of any abnormality, it promptly issues alarm signals, enabling maintenance personnel to quickly identify and resolve issues. Additionally, the floating‑structure design simplifies maintenance and inspection—eliminating the need to dismantle large equipment—and allows technicians to perform service tasks directly from the floating platform, significantly reducing both maintenance costs and workload.

Changsha Daoyuan’s custom-designed floating hydraulic pump unit system, Completely resolves power supply shortages; ordinary water pumps cannot draw water even at high suction lifts, and… Issues such as motor burnout caused by improper operating conditions of submersible pumps have, while upending the traditional shore‑based pumping paradigm, enabled more efficient, stable, and convenient dewatering. This has successfully addressed the challenge of water accumulation impeding mining operations, providing critical support for restoring normal production and reducing operation and maintenance costs.

This system is scalable and upgradeable, seamlessly adapting to changes in pit‑mining depth and water‑logging conditions—delivering long‑term benefits with a single investment. When tackling the challenges of open‑pit drainage, there’s no need for repeated trial-and‑error or incurring additional losses. Choose Changsha Daoyuan: backed by cutting‑edge R&D expertise and tailored services, we make drainage more efficient, operations smoother, and post‑implementation performance data will further validate its core value. We warmly invite you to join us in breaking through mining‑drainage bottlenecks and boosting production efficiency.