NSERC/COSIA Industrial Research Chair in Oil Sand Tailings Geotechnique

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The oil sands are viewed as a vital component to the Canadian economy. At the same time, the environmentalimpacts of oil sands operations are also growing. Tailings impoundments are used almost exclusively for wastemanagement, and the combined footprint for these impoundments is currently more than 220 km2. Processedoil sands ore yields a tailings slurry composed of water, sand, silt and clay (or "fines"), and a small amount ofresidual bitumen. The tailings are discharged into a settling basin, allowing the sand fraction to settle quicklyon the beach with the balance of fine tailings settling in the pond.The Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) and have partnered with UAlberta to significantlyadvance the rate at which tailings ponds can be reclaimed. The proposed research program consists ofcomplementary themes that integrate multidisciplinary expertise from UAlberta and industry. The researchproposes the development and application of new and innovative geotechniques to design dry stacked depositsfor the oil sands industry while simultaneously investigating geotechnical and bio-geochemical aspects ofcurrent oil sands tailings management and reclamation strategies. The proposed research program focuses on:Theme 1: Engineered Mixtures of Tailings and Overburden for Dry Stacked DepositsTheme 2: Influence of Bio-geo-chemical Interactions on the Geotechnical Behaviour of Soft TailingsTheme 3: Capping Soft Tailings DepositsThese complementary themes aim to conduct research that looks to the future of tailings deposits, whileproviding research for immediate/interim challenges. It is anticipated that 15 highly qualified personnel will betrained through the research program. Further, the collaboration between industry and academia will enablefundamental discoveries for the behaviour and improved management of fluid fine tailings, benefitting theengineering discipline, and bolster the University of Alberta and Canada's position as an international leader inmining reclamation and oil sands tailings geotechnique.