Authors: G. Ritson, Hatch and C. Ward, Petro Canada Oil Sands Inc
41st Annual Meeting of the Canadian Mineral Processors, Ottawa, Canada, January 20 - 22, 2009
Abstract
The oil sands industry is still fairly young with the first viable oil sand operation having been
started in Alberta in 1960. Since then numerous modifications and improvements have been
tried and implemented. The current process makes use of high velocity pumping of oil sands
slurry with hot water (hydrotransport) to achieve separation of bitumen from the sand.
A number of the oil sands processes have been adapted from unit operations that are used in
mineral processing, such as crushing, screening, flotation, cycloning and thickening. This paper
outlines a typical oil sands process flowsheet and investigates the differences and similarities in
technologies and costs to other mineral processing industries. It also considers the very large
throughputs required, and presents some of the difficulties and challenges currently faced by the
industry as a result of high demand for oil and environmental pressures.
