The main objective of the project was the hydrogeological characterization of the Juanicipio mine to understand the origin and means of transport of the water that flows in the mining works, so that the mine could determine if the dewatering capacity currently installed is adequate or if it would be necessary to improve it to prevent a flooding event.
It was determined that even though the mine workings are in a low-permeability rock, the water flows through fault or fracture zones conditioned by the structural environment, which creates a segmentation of the rock mass, causing the water to flow randomly towards low pressure zones, with volumes ranging from 10 to 150 gpm.
Through the identification of zones in which low quality rock and the presence of structures converge, zones with potential to transmit water were determined. This information, along with the characteristics of the rock, the topography, historical piezometry in the surroundings of the mine and the estimation of the recharge by precipitation, helped to create a preliminary numerical model to estimate the maximum flows expected during the progress of the underground workings to deeper levels and provide the mine personnel with the areas with the greatest risk of presenting flows that could exceed the installed dewatering capacity.
