Numerical Modelling of Oil Sands Deposits for Mine Plan Engineering

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Natural resources are an endowment that all Canadians wish to preserve and develop in a sustainable and responsible manner. Of particular importance to Canada and local interest to Alberta are the oil sands of the McMurray Formation. The geologic characteristics of the oil sands are established by geoscientists. The development strategies and process design is within the realm of a wide cross section of engineering and other disciplines. This research lies in the interdisciplinary region between geoscientific characterization and engineering design: the quantification of resources and the associated uncertainty. The focus of this proposal is the calculation of numerical models that are suitable for long, medium and short term mine planning of oil sands operations. Site specific characteristics will be addressed including the depositional environment, the multiple rock and fluid properties of the oil sands that affect process performance and the mining methods employed in the oil sands.