Quote from main page: A Guide to the Management of Tailings Facilities (the Tailings Guide) is designed to be applied by MAC members and non-MAC members alike, anywhere in the world. The Tailings Guide, first released in 1998, provides guidance on responsible tailings management, helps companies develop and implement site-specific tailings management systems, and improves consistency of application of engineering and management principles to tailings management.
Innovation flourishes at the intersection of great challenges meeting compelling solutions. Canada's Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) is an alliance of oil sands producers focused on accelerating the pace of improvement in environmental performance in Canada's oil sands through collaborative action and innovation. COSIA's membership accounts for over 90% of the oil sands product in Canada. Canada's oil sands producers are competitors and rivals; but they are also partners in a made-in-Canada collaboration model that is helping to redefine, globally, how companies can innovate together, and accelerate solution development to address some of the world's biggest challenges. COSIA companies are working aggressively to accelerate the pace of environmental performance improvement in the oil sands. Canada's oil sands industry is committed to reducing all aspects of its environmental footprint, reclaiming all lands affected by operations, and maintaining biodiversity. To create breakthrough science and technologies, COSIA brings together leading thinkers from industry, government, academia and the public. In addition, COSIA members themselves work together, each sharing considerable in-house expertise, innovation and intellectual property within the alliance, and dedicating substantial funds to COSIA's many environmental performance projects. The unique characteristics of oil sands tailings provide member companies with an opportunity to seek out innovative tailings management and technology solutions for responsible and sustainable growth of this key global energy resource. This keynote address will elaborate on each of the Environmental Priority Areas (EPA), with an emphasis on the Tailings EPA. It will provide the audience with a brief history, achievements, current technical challenges, and opportunities for collaboration to close remaining knowledge and technical gaps to accelerate the pace of environmental performance improvement.
Examples of the successful use of emerging technologies for the dam emergencies that occurred during Hurricane Matthew in 2016. This Fact Sheet also provides information on actions that can be taken to reduce risks, improve emergency response, and improve communication related to dams.
Given the current scenario experienced by Brazilian mining industry, the study and development of technologies that enable a more secure and controlled disposal of tailings has gained significant relevance. Among the various alternatives and disposal methodologies, Anglo American has been developing tests on different study fronts. Using dewatering polymers to improve tailings store potentials at tailings dam is one of the methods that has been studied extensively. The tested polymers can enhance de-watering performance and immobilization of mineral slurries during hydraulic deposition, therefore achieving optimization of tailings storage at the existing facility. The studies were divided into laboratory and industrial field-testing phases aiming to evaluate the applicability of this technology for eventual implementation at industrial scale. During the laboratory testing phase, more than two hundred tests were performed to determine the best polymer type, dilution and dosage. The parameters evaluated were based on yield stress measurements by a rheometer, slump tests performance and water released volume after 10 minutes and 24 hours after polymer addition. The results from laboratory testing phase have provided sufficient information for industrial scale trial. The second phase of the study consisted of an industrial field trial with polymer application in the tailings dam for five days. During the trial, topographic measurements were taken in order to evaluate the increase of settled material during the first kilometer after tailings discharge. The results demonstrated a significant increase of settled material and beach slope angle in the measured area. This showed a good potential for improved utilization of the storage in the tailings storage facility in the coming years.
The objective of this report is intended to be a technology deployment roadmap for "end to end" solutions for oil sands tailings. This technology deployment roadmap and action plan that will assist regulators and industry to create and implement technology solutions that will meet the goals of Alberta Environment (AEW) Directive 047. The report is broken into 4 components that includes a review of current technologies used in the oil sands industry, evaluation of these technologies, and highlights technologies to improve upon existing methods.
Component 3 of the Oil Sands Tailings Technology Deployment Roadmap. This report intended to develop a method to evaluate the identified tailings technologies to determine their strengths and weaknesses, in light of specific criteria provided by Component 2, and then to evaluate the technologies using the developed methodology. Eight categories of technologies (mining, extraction and bitumen recovery, tailings processing, deposition and capping, water treatment, reclamation, and technology suites) were sub-divided into three categories (commercial, development, and research).