When Inflow Stops Being Theoretical

You don’t notice mine inflow when it’s still theoretical or a discussed risk. You notice it when something underground stops behaving as it should. A drill hole flows more than predicted. Pressures don’t reconcile. Water appears in an active panel or begins trickling our of old workings. At that point, the question is no longer whether inflow is a risk, but how exposed the operation is and how quickly that exposure is changing.

Writing in The Potash Producer magazine, Chris Johnson, RESPEC’s Manager of Hydrogeology and Data Modeling, explores the following questions:

• Where is the water?
• How big is the inflow and can it be catastrophic?
• How does water get in?
• What can be done to prepare?

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