Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Large volumes of tailings are a byproduct of surface mining of the oil sands and managing these tailings are one of the most damaging aspects of tar sands. [66] The Government of Alberta reported in 2013 that tailings ponds in the Alberta oil sands covered an area of about 77 square kilometres (30 sq mi). [66]
The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of oil sands rich in bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventional oil in the world, making Canada a significant player in the global energy market.
The agreement called for mining 45,000 tonnes of sands in 1937 and 90,000 tonnes each year after 1938. The 1,555- hectare lease carried a rental of $2.47 per hectare per year. There was to be royalties of $0.063 per cubic metre on production for the first five years, and $0.31 per cubic metre thereafter.
In 2003, the oil shale development program was initiated in the United States, and in 2005, the commercial leasing program for oil shale and tar sands was introduced. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] As of May 2007, Estonia is actively engaged in exploitation of oil shale on a significant scale and accounts for 70% of the world's processed oil shale. [ 10 ]
Tar sands get a lot of bad press, much of it to do with the fact that the extraction and processing of tar sands bitumen creates a lot more pollution than other fuel sources. A few companies are ...
[12] [13] The US program was restarted in 2003, followed by a commercial leasing program in 2005 permitting the extraction of oil shale and oil sands on federal lands in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005. [14] As of 2010, shale oil extraction is in operation in Estonia, Brazil, and China.
Oil sand tailings or oil sands process-affected water (OSPW), have a highly variable composition and a complex mixture of compounds. [4] In his oft-cited 2008 journal article, E. W. Allen wrote that typically tailings ponds consist of c. 75% water, c. 25% sand, silt and clay, c.2% of residual bitumen, as well as dissolved salts, organics, and minerals.
Tailings ponds are used to store the waste made from separating minerals from rocks, or the slurry produced from tar sands mining. Tailings are sometimes mixed with other materials such as bentonite to form a thicker slurry that slows the release of impacted water to the environment.