Water, Sewage & Effluent July August 2018 | Page 16

Hyson Cells was tasked with waterproofing a dam that was close to the old
opencast workings at a Phalaborwa mine.
Case study by Hyson Cells
Trafficable waterproof liner
At the start of laying the pipe, supported with a precast Rocla plinth on a concrete blinding and held down with a galvanised saddle.
The existing water reservoirs at a Phalaborwa mine
(Limpopo Province) are constructed fairly close to the
old opencast workings. The slopes of the pit were rapidly
retreating, threatening the integrity of the mine’s existing
water supply.
The construction of a new reservoir was urgently
required; however, only limited space was available because
of the adjacent infrastructure and mine workings. In
addition, the reservoir was to be constructed above natural
ground level and had to be waterproof. of the social upliftment commitment requirement. Malcolm
Sales, of Lebalelo, confirmed that the Havercroft Andalusite
dam was still completely free of leaks after having been in
operation for three years and after having been trafficked for
removal of silts.
Although the Havercroft Dam at Lebalelo had mainly
been constructed with slopes of 1:3 (because it had
originally been intended to use a plastic liner), it was
known that Hyson Cell