Reclamation of Mined Lands, Great Canadian Oil Sands, Ltd. Lease Site, Tar Island, Alberta

Authors
Don Klym
C.B. Berry
Resource Date:
1976
Page Length
12

Tailings sand is a fine-textured, high pH (8.0-8.5), low nutrient and poor water holding material. Overburden spoil, generally, is saline, above neutral in pH, high in clay content, low in organic matter, low in fertility, and may contain a small percentage of oil sands. The overburden component muskeg, usually a sedge or moss peat, is the principal amendment used to improve the adverse characteristics of tailings sand and overburden spoil.

Our reclamation program is designed around the primary short-tern, objective of erosion control and secondary objectives of establishing a self-supporting vegetative cover, improving aesthetics and providing a habitat for wildlife.