Land use
Oil sands operations, especially open-pit mines, disturb a large area of land. The government requires companies to return the land to a sustainable landscape (reclamation). A plan to restore the land must be developed and approved by government as part of the project’s approval process.
Syncrude Canada Ltd.’s Gateway Hill area recently became the first oil sands lease to receive a final reclamation certificate from the government.
Find out more about our commitment to returning the land to a sustainable landscape
Tailings ponds
While only 20 per cent of the oil sands is developed by open-pit mining, those operations produce tailings ponds. These ponds contain tailings (a mixture of water, sand, clay and bitumen), are large in size and are regulated by the provincial government. Tailings ponds can be hazardous to local wildlife and are an unsightly part of the landscape.
Companies are using new techniques to reduce the size of tailings ponds and the amount of water used. For example, Shell Canada Limited’s Albian Sands project uses an innovative technique that recaptures more water before tailings are released, resulting in less water withdrawn from the river and smaller tailings ponds.
Gateway Hill Reclamation, Syncrude
Canada’s oil sands industry will provide a secure source of energy, reduce its impact on the environment and provide economic benefits to society while developing this globally significant resource.
Oil Sands Tailings Ponds
Oil sands operators employ numerous mitigation measures to limit and manage seepage from tailings ponds, including: construction of ditches and groundwater interception wells around tailings facilities to capture seepage and runoff, which is then pumped back into the tailings pond; and construction of cut-off walls to prevent seepage migration. Both industry and government monitor water quality to detect and prevent any impacts that oil sands development may have on water quality.
Read more about tailings ponds
Access detailed reports including the Report of the Dialogues on the Oil Sands, and the 2011 ARC Financial five-year review and outlook.
See Reports