Classification of oil sands ore and waste on the basis of technical and economic criteria

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The proposed research program will investigate the classification of mined oil sands material as ore or waste on the basis of technical and economic criteria. The oil sands are the largest commodity in the Canadian mining industry in terms of both waste material mined and ore material processed. They are also the largest source of tailings waste in Canada. Oil sands mining operations are subject to static criteria when determining whether mined material is ore or waste, i.e. whether material should be sent to the processing plant for bitumen recovery or sent to a waste dump. These criteria are uniform for all operations and established by a provincial regulation, Alberta's Interim Directive 2001-7. The definition of ore by regulation is unusual internationally, and unique to the oil sands within Canada. The research program will produce an analysis of the impact of the current prescribed oil sands mine planning system versus an engineering approach to defining mining pit limits and mined material classification as ore or waste. The analysis will define the impacts of the two methods on project economics, bitumen resource conservation and utilization, and environmental impact, including accrued environmental liability. The research will include sub-activities exploring the costs associated with oil sands mining. The focus will be on linking environmental impacts and their associated costs (terrestrial and aquatic reclamation and tailings treatment) to the specific material qualities of processed ores. The research program will address concerns related to oil sands reclamation liabilities expressed by the public, non-governmental organizations, other oil sands stakeholders, and First Nations. The research has the potential to inform and influence regulations related to oil sands mining. If the hypothesis of the research program is correct, it is anticipated that the analysis will form the basis for policy reform recommendations. Improved environmental performance of oil sands operations with respect to tailings waste production is a long-term objective of the research. The anticipated outcomes of the research program include: -Improved understanding of the costs associated with oil sands land reclamation by extending the applicant’s current research in this area -Improved understanding of the costs associated with oil sands tailings treatment methods, and the first work in the public domain in this area -The first work in the public domain to attempt to quantify tailings waste production associated with different material qualities (bitumen grade, fines content, clay content, etc.) of oil sands materials -An analysis of the impact of the existing regulations on: economic performance of oil sands operations; waste production by oil sands operations (mined and tailings waste); accrued liability related to tailings; and bitumen resource utilization and conservation -A critical review of the existing regulations with respect to their ability to meet stated goals of responsible resource development and resource conservation. The research program will provide training in advanced mine planning methodologies for 5 HQP. These HQP will develop: -Advanced knowledge of the principles of strategic mine planning -Practical skills in the application of mining software -Advanced knowledge of mining systems and the relationships between activities in the system -The ability to create sophisticated mining cost models, including models that incorporate explicit consideration of externalities into the mine planning process -The ability to develop mine plans that incorporate principles of sustainable planning -The ability to critically assess the influence of regulatory and other constraints on mine planning outcomes.