Dam construction and utility corridor relocation in pit at Syncrude Canada Ltd.

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 88, No. 993, 1995

Leo Piciacchia, John MacNeil, Robert Cameron and Colin Ash ton, Syncrude Canada Ltd., Fort McMurray, Alberta

The in pit dam construction and utilities relocation, known as the East Mine Corridor Relocation (EMCR) project, was developed to extend the life of the east side of the Base Mine pit by two years. This will result in the recovery of an additional 80 million barrels of oil and delay expenditures associated with the opening of the North Mine by two years. To accomplish this, a large in pit earth structure was required to provide a new embankment foundation for relocating a public highway, four powerlines, a natural gas back-up pipeline, a substation, and a conveyor train. This structure would also be required as a temporary dam to contain mature fine tails on the west side until mining is completed in the east mine corridor area, that will then be filled with fluid.

Mots Clés: Open pit mining, Dam construction, Syncrude Canada Ltd.