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TA I L I N G S Oil Sands Miners Advance New Technologies for Tailings Management Producers are moving to commercial-scale projects after years of pilot-scale testing By Russell A. Carter, Managing Editor If the word "massive" hadn't existed in the English language, it would have had to have been invented to adequately describe conventional open-pit mining of oil sands in Canada's Alberta province. It's a high-stakes play with steep entry costs and capital-intensive operational requirements, where ultra- class loading and haulage equipment is needed to maintain high rates of production from sprawling mines, under variable and often extremely adverse weather conditions. The most familiar end product from the mining and processing sequence— synthetic crude oil—is quickly pro- cessed and shipped via pipeline to refineries across North America for conversion into commercially useful petroleum products. The other end product—huge volumes of tailings—remains on site and has generally been stored in ponds or mined-out pits. Over several decades of oil sands mining, producers Weir's Mega-barges in Service at Suncor Tailings Project Weir Minerals Canada (WMC) won an order in early 2010 to supply three Multiflo mega-barges, pictured below, for Suncor's TRO tailings management project (see accompanying article). This past spring, WMC and its team of contractors completed project construction prior to the hand-over to Suncor for commissioning. The system, says WMC, is now fully operational. The project is the largest of its kind for WMC, and startup marked culmination of months of effort on the part of several key groups within Weir Minerals. The effort began in the spring of 2010 with the contract to design, fabricate, assemble and launch the three reclaim water barges. A cross-functional team composed of participants from sales, product management and engineering led by the design center team in Mississauga, Ontario, with support from the sales teams in Calgary, Alberta, and Hazleton, Pennsylvania, had worked for months on project elements prior to the award, according to the company. The complete turnkey project, which includes design, fabrication, on-site construction, launch and supply of all equipment—including the Hazleton pumps shown here (right), the www.e-mj.com barges and their mechanical, electrical, process control and marine design components—represents a multi-million dollar endeavor for Weir Minerals. DECEMBER 2012 • E&MJ; 59