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Mining Operations An Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada story

Forests  / 
Mining  / 
Natural Disasters
  1. Earthshots
  2. Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
  3. Mining Operations
Description

Getting oil from oil sands is fairly straight-forward. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

In the Athabasca region near Fort McMurray, the oil sands are less than 75 meters (246 feet) from the surface, close enough for surface mining.

Surface mining techniques require the forest to be cleared. The soil and rock above the oil sand (overburden in mining jargon) is then removed. This creates the maroon or gray irregularly shaped open pit mines seen in the Landsat images. The open pits are created in a series of benches, or steps, that are 12–15 meters (39–49 feet) high. Huge hydraulic power shovels dig the oil sand and drop it into trucks that have a capacity of up to 363 metric tons (400 tons). The trucks haul the oil sand to a facility that separates the oil and sand.

The oil sand mixes with hot water to form a slurry. In this slurry, the sand settles to the bottom, clay and water sit in the middle, and the bitumen floats on the top. The bitumen is skimmed off the surface and the rest gets pumped to tailings ponds, also visible as the large blue shapes in Landsat images, often outlined in tan.

The September 29, 2016, image is from the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-2 satellite. The resolution of the bands used in this image is 20 meters, compared to Landsat’s 30 meters. Enlarge that image to see a little bit more detail of this surface mining area.

View Related Imagery & Stories

Location

Aug. 6, 1989, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Aug. 6, 1989, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Aug. 17, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Aug. 17, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

June 15, 1999, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

June 15, 1999, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

June 28, 2004, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

June 28, 2004, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

July 4, 2006, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

July 4, 2006, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Sep. 14, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Sep. 14, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Sep. 20, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Sep. 20, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Sep. 28, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Sep. 28, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

July 15, 2016, Landsat 8 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

July 15, 2016, Landsat 8 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Sep. 29, 2016, Sentinel-2 — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Sep. 29, 2016, Sentinel-2 — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Aug. 6, 1989, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Aug. 17, 1993, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
June 15, 1999, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
June 28, 2004, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
July 4, 2006, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Sep. 14, 2009, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Sep. 20, 2011, Landsat 5 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Sep. 28, 2014, Landsat 8 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
July 15, 2016, Landsat 8 (path/row 42/20) — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada
Sep. 29, 2016, Sentinel-2 — surface mining in the Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada

Athabasca Oil Sands, Alberta, Canada Additional Imagery & Stories

Bitumen
Bitumen

The oil type mined in the Athabasca oil sands region is bitumen. This naturally occurring oil is so viscous that even at room temperature it acts like...

Read More
Fire
Fire

You might have noticed that fire scars of varying size show up in some of these images. These fire scars show up as red or maroon against the green ve...

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In Situ Mining
In Situ Mining

To extract oil that is too deep for surface mining operations, in situ mining, or “in place” mining, is used. Mining companies use steam and gravity t...

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Reclamation
Reclamation

The mining companies are required to restore the disturbed land to be at least as productive as it was before it was mined. Overburden that was remove...

Read More
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