Alan Fair led the Oil Sands Tailings Consortium before his retirement. Al Hyndman consults on Total's Joslyn oil sands mine, and gave Fair's keynote presentation at the Oil Sands Tailings 2014 Conference. Hyndman discusses general facts about the first oil sand tailings pond, and the significance of Fluid Fine Tailings and their impact on tailings ponds, as well as technological advancements that have assisted the oil and gas industry from an historical perspective.
The first part of their presentation covers the development of the oils sands from 1967 and the discovery that fine clay particles in the fluid tailings would not settle out of the water column. And the tailings ponds to retain the fluid fine tailings (FFT) grew.
The behaviour of fine clays in water and the consequences on tailings management in Alberta's Oil Sands is covered in this presentation. Much of the perceptions of oil sands mining follow from the challenges of managing fluid fine tailings. An essential presentation for those who want to understand and comment on oil sands development in Alberta.