Mine water as a source of geothermal power
Former mining sites hold huge potential as a source of geothermal energy. VITO’s Mine Water Management Tool will help you assess that potential. Additionally, the tool allows you to pinpoint risks and ways to bypass them – so you can make sound decisions when recovering mine water.
Where lies the geothermal potential of old mines?
Over the years, many abandoned mines have flooded with groundwater. This water is heated by the earth but often remains unused. By repurposing old mining sites, these geothermal sources can both heat and cool homes and companies (for example). Moreover, residual heat and cooling can be stored and released when needed.
Mine water modelling with the Mine Water Management Tool
The Mine Water Management Tool (MWMT) supports mine water modelling, or planning the repurposing of abandoned mining sites. With the help of a flexible, accurate and quick calculation software, the tool generates conceptual mining models that take realistic parameters into account.
Think of the typical geometry of a mine (including galleries, tunnels and shafts) in which you can integrate advective currents, map out the interaction between rock formations and the water, etc.
The Mine Water Management Tool allows you to:
- calculate how much mine water flows from the site;
- calculate the chemical composition of mine water;
- measure and predict the spread of chemicals in flooded mining areas;
- assess and monitor the flood history of a mine;
- design the optimal wellfield configuration to recover the mine water.
The benefits of the Mine Water Management Tool for deep geothermal energy
Because the tool creates such a realistic model, you can predict the mine water’s temperature and chemical situation through time. It also allows you to determine the capacity of the mine water, taking a varying heating demand into account. And finally, the tool makes sure you use the geothermal reservoir optimally and sustainably.
Want to learn more about the Minewater Management Tool?
We’re happy to give you some more information about the possibilities. Together, we can look into how this tool can support your operations.
FAQ: MWMT and mine water modelling
The MWMT was developed for mining companies but works just as well for project developers or governing bodies that focus on or are interested in exploiting the geothermal potential of mine water.
Mine water can become polluted over the years, holding damaging substances from the mine’s corridors like asbestos, oil and metals. Rising mine water, as well as the leaching of residue and settling ponds, can therefore lead to the pollution of the groundwater and surface water. The Mine Water Management Tool helps you predict and bypass risks like that.