Numerical Modeling of Variability Through Mining, Extraction and Tailings Management

自然资源是所有加拿大人都希望以可持续和负责任的方式加以保护和开发的天赋。对加拿大特别重要的是麦克默里组的油砂，对艾伯塔省的当地利益也是如此。采矿工程历来专注于了解储量和对这些储量进行经济最佳开采。对进入加工设施的材料的管理很重要，但对废流的管理越来越重要。尾矿库中必须有存放这种材料的空间。必须了解和管理污染物的浓度、固体的粒度分布、材料的强度和其他特性。这需要工程学和其他学科的广泛交叉。这项研究处于地学表征和工程设计之间的交叉学科领域：地质变异性的量化及其在整个过程中的传递。这一建议的重点是计算适合于管理采矿作业中所有输入和输出物料流的数值模型。将解决现场特定的特征，包括法规要求、数据收集、信息价值和规划优化，以确保满足所有限制。

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. Mining engineering has historically focused on understanding the reserves and economically optimal extraction of those reserves. The management of the material entering processing facilities is important, but the management of the waste streams is of increasing importance. There has to be room for the material in tailings ponds. Concentrations of contaminants, the size distribution of the solids, the strength of the material and other properties must be understood and managed. This calls on 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 geological variability and the transfer of that through the entire process. The focus of this proposal is the calculation of numerical models that are suitable for management of all input and output material streams in a mining operation. Site specific characteristics will be addressed including regulatory requirements, data collection, value of information, and optimization of planning to ensure all constraints are met.