Memo

To: Esam A. Wshah

From: Carmelita Golingay (531132)
Date: November 7, 2009
Re: RESR 473 Oil Sands Mining and Processing
Assignment No. 3 – Writing About The 2 Movies
 Page 2 of 6

Section 1. MOVIE 1 – THE AMAZING ATHABASCA OIL SANDS

Bitumen Extraction

It was Dr. Karl Clark, from Alberta Research Council in the 1920s, who developed the original
process for extraction of bitumen from the sands. The first process involved is mining the ore through
open-pit mining technology. It is followed by crushing the mined ore for size reduction. Hot water at
about 50 - 80 °C is added to the ore and the formed slurry is transported using hydrotransport line to
a primary separation vessel (PSV) where bitumen is recovered by flotation as bitumen froth. The
recovered bitumen froth consists of 60% bitumen, 30% water and 10% solids by weight. The
recovered bitumen froth needs to be cleaned to reject the contained solids and water to meet the
requirement of downstream upgrading processes. Around 90 and 100% of the bitumen, depends on
the ore’s bitumen content, can be recovered using modern hot water extraction techniques. After oil
extraction, the spent sand and other materials are then returned to the mine, which is eventually
reclaimed.

Industrial Equipment Used

Thousands of tons of oil sands are being mined by some of the biggest machines in the world.

A. Loading Equipment or Excavators

1. Excavators are equipment used to mine out the earth.

• Shovels
- usually used for very high production
- used in rigid operating condition
- good for almost all kind of material: soft, hard and large blocky material
- usually need supporting equipment for waste disposal such as dozers
• Draglines
- dig above and below grade
- less rigid condition compared to shovels
- have 75% to 80% of the efficiency of the shovels with the same size of the bucket.
- may need supporting equipment for waste disposal
- usually used for softer material (compare to shovels)
• Scrapers
- very good mobility
- good for soft material and broken rocks up to 24 inches.
- may need pushers to assist loading
• Bucket wheel excavators
- required engineered conditions
- need high capital costs
- limited to soft and easy digging material
- give high production rate
- need auxiliary disposal system

Carmelita Golingay (531132) RESR 473 Assign. No. 3 – Writing About The 2 Movies
Due Date: November 7, 2009
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• Haulage Equipment
1) Bulldozers - good for operating radius up to 500 ft
2) Scrapers - need good road conditions
- fast with excellent maneuverability
- good for short radius up to 1 mile
3) Trucks - need good road condition to minimize the operating condition (cost of tire)
- can work on steep ramps with adverse slope up to 7% to 8%.
- good for maximum operating radius of 2.5 miles.
- very mobile
4) Trains - lower operating cost compare to trucks and other haulage
- equipment
- good for high capacity and long distance transportation
- track requires very careful engineering
- need high initial capital costs
- work with a maximum adverse grade of 4%
- for wide range of material: soft, coarse and blocky
5) Conveyors- high initial capital costs
- provide high capacity
- good for long distances
- used for slopes up to 40%

B. Size Reduction
• Crushers
1) Primary Crushers - used to break the run of mine to the sizes that are
required for transportation by belt conveyors or pipeline
- usually installed closer to the mining operation
2) Secondary Crushers – much lighter than heavy duty rugged primary machines
- operate with dry feeds
- reduce the ore to a size suitable for grinding
3) Tertiary - to all intents and purposes, of the same design as secondaries, except that they
have a closer set
• Grinders - machine for producing fine particle size reduction through attrition and compressive
forces at the grain size level

C. Classification
• Classifiers - used to separate particles with different terminal velocities, that is, particles with
different sizes and/or different densities, from each other
Types of Classifiers
1) Vertical Current or Hydraulic Classifiers
- settling condition is usually of the hindered type, and so increase the effect of density
on the separation
- consists of several columns that operate in series
2) Horizontal Current Classifiers
- free settling type and accentuate the sizing function

Carmelita Golingay (531132) RESR 473 Assign. No. 3 – Writing About The 2 Movies
Due Date: November 7, 2009
 Page 4 of 6

Separation

Dewatering (Solid-Liquid Separation)

a) Sedimentation - used for separating water from both solids and tailings
b) Filtration – separating solids from liquid by means of a porous medium which retains the solid
but allows the liquid to pass
c) Thermal drying – reducing the moisture content

API Oil-water Separator

An API oil-water separator is a device designed to separate gross amounts of oil and suspended solids
from the wastewater effluents of oil refineries, petrochemical plants, chemical plants, natural gas
processing plants and other industrial sources. The name is derived from the fact that such separators are
designed according to standards published by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Environmental Impact

In the article Canada’s oil sands a different conversation (2008), Raymond (2009) explains that the
Athabasca oil sands deposit has been one of the largest intact ecosystems in the world, named as the
boreal forest. It interconnects rivers and lakes, and provides the natural home for migratory birds, caribous,
bears and wolves. In addition, it is the habitat for diverse flora and fauna.

According to Lam (2009), “The Greenpeace Canada Web site warns that the extraction process uses
349 million cubic metres of water from rivers and lakes per year, twice the amount used by the city of
Calgary. As well, 90% of this cannot be returned afterwards. Part of the Kearl project will draw water
from the Athabasca River.

What is the Government of Alberta doing to protect the environment during oil sands development?

It is the top priority in the government of the province of Alberta to protect the environment during
development of this resource. Stringent legislation and on-the-ground measures are already in place
to protect the air, land and water during oil sands development. They intermittently strive to improve
and progress in this area. The government has established an Oil Sands Environmental Management
Division in Alberta Environment specifically to enhance environmental protection during oil sands
development.

Alberta Environment has been monitoring the water quality in the oil sands region since the early
1970s. In the 1990s the government increased monitoring efforts by establishing and joining the
Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program (RAMP), which collects thousands of water samples from
across the region each year. RAMP is an environmental monitoring program that assesses the health
of rivers and lakes in the oil sands region of northeastern Alberta. RAMP works to identify long-term
trends, regional issues and potential long-term effects related to industrial development.

Carmelita Golingay (531132) RESR 473 Assign. No. 3 – Writing About The 2 Movies
Due Date: November 7, 2009
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Section 2. MOVIE 2 – PAY DIRT: MAKING THE UNCONVENTIONAL – CONVENTIONAL

The oil sands industries are growing up and in the future they will be one of the most important sources to
generate employment and activate the economy in the province of Alberta. Although oil companies admit
that they are spending natural resources in the exploration and production of oil sands, these are relatively
low comparatively with the extended quantities of resources that the region has.

Why we need more oil sources?

We are not running out of oil but the oil companies are struggling harder and harder to find a replacement
in the oil that we are producing. The declining supply of oil will not meet the increasing demand of the
consumers. The political instability in the key oil producing countries, tremendous conflicts that are going
on in the Middle East such as terrorist activities in Saudi Arabia, confrontation with Iraq and Iran, political
manipulation of oil in Venezuela, caused insecurity in the supply of oil. A sustained oil shortage will shake
the world’s economy to its foundation.

Why Canada is important in the oil business?

Canada is producing much oil as Kuwait, ranked in the world behind Saudi Arabia and considered at
energy super power now. The tighter oil supply, increasing demand and political instability are the three
reasons why the world including US comes to Canada. US realized it is far better to build oilsands plant in
a friendly neighbor who is making more oil than the Middle East and build pipeline so they can receive a
secured supply of oil flowing in a pipeline.

What can we do to protect our treasure and be the winner?

Scrutinize the policy, develop the technology in oilsands for the protection of the environment, study
how to deal and tackle the problems in the development of oilsands and make our oilsand a
constructive energy. To the politicians, oilsand is the key to Canada’s security.

Canada’s major concerns in oil sand development

The rapid development of oilsands create major concerns, some of them are environmental impact,
can Athabasca Rriver deal the removal of millions of liters of water per day, will the aboriginal people
live in the area thrive or suffer, can the local city deal with growth, need of more infrastructure,
services, housing, schools, supply of skilled people that will work in the plant and transportation.

Carmelita Golingay (531132) RESR 473 Assign. No. 3 – Writing About The 2 Movies
Due Date: November 7, 2009
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Reference

Alberta Government. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from

http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/faqs/faq5oil_sands.asp

Canadian Association of Petroleum Products (2008). Canada oil’s sands a different conversation.
Retrieved November 5, 2009 from http://www.canadasoilsands.ca/en/what-were-doing/land-
use.aspx

McMaster, C., McMaster, M. and Palmer, M. (Producers). (2005). Pay Dirt Making the Unconventional
Conventional (DVD).

Lamb, E. (2009, May 26). $8-billion oil-sands project approved. Financial Post. 11paragraphs. Retrieved
June 1, 2009, from
http://www.financialpost.com/related/links/story.html?id=1629707

Wills, B. (2001). Ore handling. Mineral Processing Technology (6th ed.). Massachusetts: Reed
Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd.

Wikipedia. Retrieved November 5, 2009 from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athabasca_Oil_Sands#Bitumen_extraction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API_oil-water_separator

Wshah, E. (2009). Lecture and handouts presented to SAIT RESR 473 Class, Calgary.

Carmelita Golingay (531132) RESR 473 Assign. No. 3 – Writing About The 2 Movies
Due Date: November 7, 2009