##  [Oil Sands Clay Fines: Can they be Reclaimed as Productive, Self-Sustaining Wetlands?](/resource/oil-sands-clay-fines-can-they-be-reclaimed-productive-self-sustaining-wetlands) 

Organization

[Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA)](/organization/canadian-land-reclamation-association-clra)

[Syncrude Canada Ltd. (SCL)](/organization/syncrude-canada-ltd-scl)

 

 

Project

[Alberta Chapter CLRA Conference Papers](/project/alberta-chapter-clra-conference-papers)

 

Resource Type

[Report](/taxonomy/term/38)

 

 

Author(s)

Hans Boerger

Mike MacKinnon

Bill Hunter

 

 

Original Authors

Hans Boerger

Mike MacKinnon

Bill Hunter

 

 

Resource Date:

1991

 

Page Length

18

 

 

The Clark hot water process currently used for extracting bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands results in large  
volumes of clay fines containing small amounts of residual bitumen. One possible way of dealing with these fines  
is to deposit them in abandoned mine pits and cover them with a layer of natural water. Current field trials in  
a series of 2,000 m3 pits indicate that a diverse and productive aquatic community can be maintained in the water  
above these fines. This is due to the properties of the fines and the various processes operating at the fines-water  
interface. Such water-covered fines would provide suitable habitat for waterfowl.