Industrial · Tasmania’s North West
Hellyer mine in Tasmania’s North West had been plugged and closed since 2012. Reopening the underground mine depended on a reliable, high-capacity dewatering system — not a temporary patch, but a robust pumping installation stakeholders could trust while water levels were brought down and the portal plug was removed.
Elite Electrical Tasmania was engaged as expert installers of pumping systems. The work meant coordinating with Nutrien and Hellyer Metals management, site engineers, and other contractors so electrical, controls, and mechanical works landed as one coherent system — three 250 kW / 1000 V submersible pumps at the core of Stage 1 dewatering, with remote visibility for everyone who needed it.
Approach
Elite worked with Nutrien, Hellyer Metals, engineering, and contracting teams to plan and install the dewatering electrics and controls end to end: supply, cabling, energisation, pump installation, VSD / level / pressure control, and a remote cloud database so level and system data could be monitored from anywhere in the world.
That shared live view supported level control and monitoring during the draw-down. Once levels were reduced, the portal plug was removed with explosives, opening the path for Stage 2.
Scope
Stage 1 — Submersible dewatering
- Install and commission 3 × 250 kW, 1000 V submersible pumps for mine dewatering
- Mains energisation, pump cabling, control wiring, and associated electrical works
- Remote cloud database for worldwide monitoring of levels and system status
- Coordination with Nutrien / Hellyer Metals management, engineers, and contractors
Portal access
Dewatering continued until water levels allowed the portal plug to be removed so underground re-entry could proceed.
Stage 2 — Pioneer pontoon then permanent series pumps
- 250 kW / 1000 V Pioneer end-suction pump mounted on a pontoon, floated down the mine shaft to improve access relative to the original ventilation shaft where the submersibles had been lowered
- Submersible pumps removed
- Layflat hose and control wiring lowered and connected to two permanent series-connected 250 kW / 1000 V Pioneer pumps
- Lower-level pumps fed an underground water vessel; the Pioneer pair drew from that vessel and lifted water ~180 m vertically up the ventilation shaft
- VSD, level, and pressure control working together as one system
- Operating data graphed and historically saved in the remote monitoring platform
Outcome
The permanent series Pioneer installation remains in service and continues to support the underground mining operation — VSD-, level-, and pressure-controlled, with historical graphing for operators and stakeholders.
- Mine dewatered sufficiently for portal plug removal and re-entry after the 2012 closure
- Staged pumping path from temporary/submersible strategy through pontoon access to permanent underground Pioneer lifts
- Shared remote visibility of levels and plant for Nutrien, Hellyer Metals, and site teams worldwide
- Ongoing operational dewatering electrics and controls still in use underground
Project photos
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