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CARING f o r t h e l a n d

ALBERTA CHAMBER OF RESOURCES

Alberta’s mining industry This is our industry’s land is strongly committed to use and reclamation story— responsible land use and what we’re doing, how we’re reclaiming mined land to create doing it and our aspirations sustainable landscapes. for the future. 2 A reclaimed coal mine at Teck’s Cardinal River Operations, located south of Hinton. To date, over 75 per cent of the land disturbed by coal mining in Alberta has been reclaimed.

Contents

Creating Sustainable Landscapes...... 1 Alberta’s mining companies are fully committed to reclaiming all mine sites that are no longer in active use and restoring all of them into sustainable landscapes.

Key Facts about Mining in Alberta...... 3 From its deep historical roots to the present day, the mining industry plays a . major role in the economic health of Alberta.

Regulating Land Use and Reclamation...... 4 All mines in Alberta must operate under approved plans and have ongoing . progressive reclamation.

Doing Things Right and Doing the Right Things...... 6 Alberta’s mining industry is providing leadership in corporate social . responsibility, research and development, and innovation.

Land Use and Reclamation in Alberta’s Coal Mines...... 10 Reclamation operations are carried out concurrently with coal mining, . thereby returning the land for other productive use in only a few years.

Land Use and Reclamation in Alberta’s Oil Sands...... 12 The oil sands industry has extensive reclamation programs in place to . return the land to equivalent capability.

Coal Mine Reclamation – Case Studies...... 16 Reports on reclamation initiatives by Sherritt Coal, Capital Power, Teck . and TransAlta.

Oil Sands Reclamation – Case Studies...... 18 Reports on reclamation initiatives by Imperial Oil, Shell, Suncor, Syncrude, . Canadian Natural and Total.

On the Cover: upper left – a reclaimed landscape at Sherritt Coal’s Gregg River Mine southwest of Hinton; upper right – Teck’s award-winning Sphinx Lake reclamation project; lower left – Syncrude’s Gateway Hill reclamation project at its Mildred Lake oil sands mine site north of Fort McMurray; lower right – Suncor’s Pond 1 reclamation project near Fort McMurray in June 2010, prior to tree planting. Creating 1 Sustainable Landscapes

Mining operations have impacts on the land and, indeed, change the landscape. This is particularly true for open pit mining, while in situ mining techniques create less land disturbance.

Alberta’s mining companies are fully committed to reclaiming all mine sites that are no longer in active use and restoring all of them into sustainable landscapes.

The industry takes its responsibility for land use and reclamation very seriously throughout the life of a mine—well before shovels are in the ground; during the active life of a mine; throughout the mine site reclamation process; and right through to completing site reclamation and receiving a reclamation certificate from the Alberta government.

Alberta’s mining industry already has many reclamation success stories, and we are proactively developing new technology and introducing new reclamation techniques that are putting us in a strong position to accelerate the pace of reclamation.

Through this brochure, the Alberta Chamber of Alberta’s mining industry takes Resources aims to inform Albertans about the facts its responsibility for land use and important issues surrounding land use and reclamation by the province’s mining companies. In and reclamation very seriously particular, this brochure focuses on the oil sands and throughout the life of a mine—well coal mining industries, as they account for the largest mining operations in Alberta. before shovels are in the ground; The thousands of people who work in Alberta’s mining during the active life of a mine; industry are proud to present this important story. Together with all Albertans, we share a strong pride in throughout the mine site reclamation our land and our environment. process; and right through to completing site reclamation.

About the Alberta Chamber of Resources

The Alberta Chamber of Resources (ACR) has tens of billions of dollars worth of economic activity in Alberta championed the orderly and responsible development of every year and employs thousands of Albertans. the province’s natural resources since 1936. The ACR is expanding collaborative efforts within Alberta’s Today, ACR members represent oil sands, coal, forestry, resource industries, offering solutions and seeking mining, minerals, power generation and transmission, oil and balance to ensure the orderly and responsible development gas, pipelines and service companies. The Chamber’s diverse of Canadian resources. For more information about the membership of approximately 200 companies generates ACR and its activities, please visit www.acr-alberta.com. 2 Coal and Oil Sands Deposits in Alberta

Fort McMurray

PEACE RIVER

GRANDE PRAIRIE

EDMONTON

CALGARY Bituminous coal MEDICINE HAT Sub-bituminous coal Oil sands recoverable using in situ techniques Oil sands mineable area

Coal Oil Sands Alberta’s sedimentary basins contain an estimated Alberta’s oil sands lie beneath 142,200 square 70 per cent of Canada’s coal reserves and produce kilometres of land, and deposits that are suitable for about half of the coal currently mined in the country surface mining are contained within 4,802 square each year. The coal mined in Alberta is primarily kilometres or about three per cent of the total area. bituminous or sub-bituminous. The remaining reserves that underlie 97 per cent of the oil sands surface area are recoverable using in situ methods, which create very little surface land disturbance. First, some 3 key facts about mining in Alberta

From its deep historical roots...

Mining has played a significant role in Alberta since the earliest days of the province.

Coal was discovered in Alberta in 1792 and was first mined to supply domestic heating needs and later to fuel steam-powered locomotives. Coal mining began near the future site of Lethbridge in the 1860s and the first coal mine in Edmonton was established in 1883. Some of the earliest mining was carried out within what is now Banff National Park but developers later moved east, establishing a mine near Canmore in 1887. Railways drove coal mine development in both the Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta and an area known as the Coal Branch in west-central Alberta south of Hinton. The towns of Nordegg and Grande Cache were also developed for the purpose of coal mining.

In 1967, Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor Energy Inc.) started mining oil sands to produce crude bitumen, when Fort McMurray was still a small trading post. ...to the present day...

Today, a wide range of commodities are mined in Alberta, including oil sands, coal, limestone, salt, shale, dimension stone, ammonite shell, sandstone, sand and gravel.

Seven major coal mines currently operate in Alberta, primarily in the central plains region. They produce between 30 and 35 million tonnes of coal annually, used mainly to generate electricity.

According to the Government of Alberta, there were 91 active oil sands projects in Alberta as of August 2010. Of these, four are mining projects and the rest use various in situ recovery methods.

There are five major industrial mineral quarries in Alberta.

Many Alberta communities depend on mining for their livelihood, including Fort McMurray, Hinton, Edson, Forestburg, Hanna and Grande Cache.

...the mining industry plays a major role in the economic health of Alberta.

The oil sands industry currently affects the jobs of 144,000 Canadians—directly, indirectly and induced—and will generate $1.7 trillion in economic activity across Canada over the next 25 years. In 2009, Alberta’s coal industry directly employed over 2,500 people and indirectly benefited over 7,000 others. Regulating 4 Land Use and Reclamation

The Alberta government has taken multiple steps to reduce negative environmental impacts from mining.

In 1993, the province consolidated all of its environmental legislation into one comprehensive statute—the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA). This strict legislation obliges mining companies to reclaim Alberta’s land to a productive state. Under the legislation:

• all mines must operate under approved plans and have ongoing reclamation;

Above: A Sherritt Coal surface mine • cumulative environmental impact assessments must be conducted that has been returned to productive for all major mine proposals; agricultural land use.

• reclamation approvals are issued for up to 10 years, after which a renewal is required, which entails a whole new process of public notification, review, appeal and approval; and

• reclamation certificates for lands disturbed by mining must be issued by the Alberta government before a company is relieved of responsibility for the site.

The full text of the EPEA is available at www.environment.alberta.ca.

Who owns the resource?

Coal the oil sands existing within the specified lease area. The land must be reclaimed and returned to the Crown at the The majority of the coal in Alberta is owned by the Alberta end of operations. Crown. However, there is also freehold ownership of coal—by private individuals and companies, the federal Metallic and industrial minerals government in national parks, and First Nations. In a typical Metallic and industrial minerals include: diamonds and other year, 50 to 60 per cent of Alberta’s mined coal is extracted precious stones; gold, iron and other precious and base from Crown leases and the rest from privately owned leases. metals; limestone and other stone; and salt. Most mineral Oil sands deposits in Alberta are Crown owned. There is also a minor amount of freehold ownership. The Alberta Crown holds the oil sands mineral rights. A lease gives an operator the right to extract bitumen from 5

Reclaimed land at TransAlta’s Highvale surface coal mine west of Edmonton supports a variety of land uses—agriculture, woodlands, wildlife habitat, recreation and wetlands.

HIGH Securing Mine RECLAMATION Reclamation STANDARDS Regulators use various forms of financial security to ensure mining companies meet all environmental requirements According to Alberta’s Environmental Protection and related to reclamation and/or resolve any environmental Enhancement Act, “the objective of conservation and impacts that may arise during a site’s operation or after the reclamation of specified land is to return the specified land company has finished mining the site. to an equivalent land capability”. In Alberta, reclamation security is currently collected The Act stipulates that “equivalent land capability means under the Conservation and Reclamation Regulation that the ability of the land to support various land uses (www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/1993_115.pdf) after conservation and reclamation is similar to the ability for coal and oil sands mines, coal processing plants, that existed prior to an activity being conducted on the sand and gravel pits, and oil production sites (the land, but that the individual land uses will not necessarily wells, pipelines, batteries and roads that feed into be identical”. heavy oil plants).

In February 2009, Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) issued a new directive with aggressive According to Alberta’s Environmental criteria for managing oil sands tailings. Named Directive Protection and Enhancement Act, 074: Tailings Performance Criteria and Requirements for Oil Sands Mining Schemes, it includes a mandated reduction “the objective of conservation and in tailings and target dates for closure and reclamation of reclamation of specified land is tailings ponds. The ERCB directive also lays out specific enforcement actions should targets not be met. Full text of to return the specified land to an the directive is available at www.ercb.ca. equivalent land capability”. 6

Doing Things Right and Doing the Right Things

There is a well-known saying that “management is doing things right and leadership is doing the right things”.

When it comes to land use and reclamation, Alberta’s mining industry aims to achieve not only responsible management of the land but also provide leadership by making strong commitments to corporate social responsibility, research and development, and innovation. Left: Land reclaimed for agricultural 7 purposes at the Genesee coal mine in Leduc County south of Edmonton is rented out and used as pasture for cattle and to grow canola, barley, wheat, and alfalfa. Capital Power and Sherritt Coal are the mine partners.

Below: Suncor mines oil sands using shovels with buckets that hold 100 tonnes, loading huge 240- to 380-tonne trucks.

Living Up to Our Commitments Mining companies operate according to comprehensive, provincially approved reclamation plans and follow stringent standards regarding air quality, groundwater and surface water.

Several years before a mine is approved, planning begins with baseline studies, cumulative environmental impact assessments, public consultations and thorough reviews by regulatory agencies. Environmental specialists start the process by performing comprehensive studies of existing ecosystems to identify sensitivities and potential impacts. They establish baseline information for surface water, groundwater, soils, vegetation, wildlife, local land use and existing social and economic conditions. This information is used to choose the best site for mine- related facilities and to inform the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. The iterative EIA process is designed to enable proponents to incorporate appropriate mitigation measures, and to develop environmental protection and reclamation plans for the area.

The key goal and regulatory requirement for a surface mine is to ensure the potential impact of the mine, determined cumulatively, does not extend to the land, water or air beyond the project footprint both during the operation of the mine and subsequently at closure.

As part of the planning process, local communities are consulted about the anticipated effects of mining on land use, transportation systems and the quality of life in the surrounding area. Public consultation is undertaken to obtain meaningful input from local residents so that their ideas and concerns can be addressed when developing final reclamation plans.

Companies are required to develop a reclamation plan for the life of the project prior to project approval. The provincial government has departments that work to ensure protection of air quality, groundwater, surface water, land, fish and wildlife. The federal 8 government can also get involved in areas where it has jurisdiction such as fisheries, toxic substances and trans-boundary effects. These regulatory agencies evaluate every reclamation plan, considering the baseline environmental information and the long-term interests of those likely to be directly affected by the mining project. A company cannot proceed with mining until it receives approvals based on strict environmental standards for land reclamation, protection for wildlife, and management of air and water quality. Regular inspections throughout the entire mining process ensure companies adhere to government standards.

Mining is a temporary use of the land. Companies actually just “borrow” land for the time it takes to mine the resource. Afterwards, all lands will be returned to a self-sustaining condition. Ongoing research programs Above: A gravel pit near the Red Deer River. provide information to evolve and advance reclamation Mining of the gravel commenced in 1980 practices. These studies also identify areas where from the south end (top of photo), and has progressed upstream to the current mining corrections need to be made or where opportunities area in the foreground. Ongoing reclamation on exist for improvement, so further action can be taken. a yearly basis has maximized the land available for farming.

A company cannot proceed with mining until it receives approvals based on strict environmental standards for land reclamation, protection for wildlife, and management of air and water quality.

Coal is loaded into a large- capacity truck at one of Sherritt Coal’s surface mines in Alberta. 9

Land reclaimed for agricultural use at a TransAlta-owned surface coal mine located near the company’s Sundance thermal generating station west of Edmonton.

Progressive Reclamation

For coal and minerals mining, reclamation operations are Disturbed areas are reclaimed as soon as they are no longer carried out concurrently with mining operations. To date, in active use in order to minimize the amount of disturbed over 75 per cent of the land disturbed by coal mining has area at any one time. The rate of land reclamation will be been reclaimed. dramatically accelerating over the next 10 years due to the progressive approach. Over the last 15 years, oil sands mining companies have adopted the practice of “progressive reclamation”, through which they manage reclamation on an ongoing basis.

Oil Sands Meeting Technology International Roadmap Standards

The Alberta Chamber of Resources sponsored the Oil Shell Canada Limited (Shell) is the first oil sands project to Sands Technology Roadmap initiative, which has set a receive ISO 14001 accreditation, an international standard course for oil sands industry growth and established a for environmental management that demonstrates the vision of the industry that is competitive, economical company’s commitment to continuous improvement. and respectful of its environmental footprint. Shell’s Scotford Upgrader and the Muskeg River Mine Toward that end, the Roadmap is designed to drive achieved the ISO 14001 standard for environmental a review of research and development already under management systems in 2003 and 2004, respectively. way and facilitate the development of new technology To receive this internationally recognized designation, in the years ahead, including in the realm of land use an organization must demonstrate that it has a sound and reclamation. environmental policy, an effective environmental Full text of the Roadmap is available at management system and is committed to complying www.acr-alberta.com. with environmental legislation. Land Use and 10 Reclamation in Alberta’s Coal Mines

Canada places within the top 15 countries in the world in total proven coal reserves. Alberta’s sedimentary basins contain an estimated 70 per cent of Canada’s coal reserves and produce about half of the coal currently mined in the country each year. The coal mined in Alberta is primarily bituminous or sub-bituminous.

Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board estimates there are about 33.6 billion tonnes of established reserves of all types of coal in Alberta, an amount that will meet today’s level of demand for several centuries. This coal contains more than twice the energy of all the province’s other conventional non-renewable energy resources, including oil, natural gas and oil sands.

In 2009, Alberta produced 31 million tonnes of marketable coal. Around 73 per cent is used in electricity generation facilities. The remainder is exported to Asia—mainly to Japan and South Korea.

Surface mining COAL DEPOSITS Most Alberta coal is produced by surface mining—either strip mining or open pit.

Before mining begins, conservation activities are performed, with cover soils salvaged and either directly placed on leveled land or stockpiled for future reclamation.

Strip mining is only a temporary use of land and reclamation operations are carried out concurrently with mining, thereby GRANDE PRAIRIE returning the land for other productive use in only a few years. When coal extraction is completed on one strip, the next strip’s overburden is moved to the emptied strip, contouring is done, cover soils are replaced and the appropriate revegetation is EDMONTON established, including native trees, shrubs and grasses, thus creating a planned end land use that is equivalent to the pre- disturbed land. CALGARY

Open-pit mining is used most often in mountainous areas. When MEDICINE HAT a pit is mined out and the required backfilling from the adjacent pit is finished, the reclamation that is carried out is done in the same Bituminous coal Sub-bituminous coal thorough fashion as for strip mines, with recontouring, cover-soil placement and revegetation activities. All reclamation activities are designed to return the disturbed area to the ecosystem and terrain found in the area.

To date, over 75 per cent of the land disturbed by coal mining in Alberta has been reclaimed and by the end of 2010, the Alberta government had issued 19 coal reclamation certificates covering approximately 2,100 hectares.

Some coal that is too deep for economic recovery using surface mining technology employs underground mining techniques. The coal mine at Grande Cache has underground operations. 11

Land reclamation process in coal mining

1 Before mining begins, all suitable soils are salvaged and hauled to areas undergoing reclamation or retained in stockpiles for future use. 2 The dragline removes the overburden to expose the coal seam. The overburden is placed in the adjacent mined-out cut. The coal seam is uncovered. 3 Coal is loaded into large-capacity trucks for transport to destination. 4 Bulldozers re-contour the overburden removed by the dragline. This step is the first stage in land reclamation. 5 Soils salvaged prior to mining are replaced on the re-contoured overburden. 6 The land is re-vegetated and returned to agriculture production or other acceptable land use as defined in the operating approvals.

Innovating for the Future

Alberta Innovates—Energy and Environment Solutions (AIEES), the lead agency for energy and environmental research in Alberta, works with industry, universities, and federal and provincial research agencies to pursue the goal of identifying and adopting the best, most environmentally sound technologies that may be employed to produce and use Alberta coal and coal products.

AIEES has supported a number of projects with Sherritt Technologies and is supporting coal research at the University of Alberta by providing seed money to establish a coal research group. You can learn more about AIEES’s major initiatives at

Coal mine reclamation at Teck’s Cardinal www.albertainnovates.ca/energy/major-initiatives. River Operations south of Hinton. Land Use and 12 Reclamation in Alberta’s Oil Sands

Canada’s oil sands are a vital energy source for both Canada and the world; and like all sources of energy, oil sands development has an environmental footprint associated with its production.

Oil sands are recovered by two main methods:

Syncrude’s 104-hectare Gateway surface mining or drilling (in situ). Hill reclamation project north of Fort McMurray includes a rolling forested area with hiking trails and lookout points.

The vast majority of oil sands reserves—80 per cent—are recoverable 13 in place, or in situ.

The remaining 20 per cent of the oil sands reserves are close enough to the surface

(less than 70 metres or PEACE RIVER DEPOSIT 200 feet) to be mined. Fort McMurray As of August 2010, there ATHABASCA DEPOSIT were 91 active oil sands PEACE RIVER projects in Alberta. Of DEPOSIT these, four are surface Fort McMurray mining projects, while the COLD LAKE ATHABASCA DEPOSIT remaining projects are DEPOSIT using various in situ Edmonton recovery methods. COLD Government Source: of Alberta LAKE Jasper DEPOSIT

Edmonton Land Use Alberta’s boreal forest Jasper(381,000 km2)

Alberta’s oil sands lie oil sands deposits recoverable beneath 142,200 square Banff using in situ techniques Alberta’s boreal forest Calgary (381,000 km2) (137,398 km2) kilometres of land, and Banff Calgary oil sands deposits 2 deposits that are suitable oil sands surface (142,200 km ) mineable area (4,802 km2) oil sands surface for surface mining are mineable area (4,802 km2) oil sands mineable area oil sands mineable area contained within 4,802 currently disturbed (662 km2) currently disturbed (662 km2) square kilometres or about Note: 1 km2 = 1 square kilometre = 0.39 square milesNote: 1 km2 = 1 square kilometre = 0.39 square miles three per cent of the total area. The remaining reserves that underlie 97 per cent of the oil sands surface area are recoverable using in situ methods, which require very little surface land disturbance. Only 0.02 per cent of Canada’s 3.2 million square kilometres of boreal forest has been disturbed by oil sands mining operations over the past 40 years.

By 2010, the active oil sands surface mining footprint totalled 662 square kilometres—an area about the size of the City of Edmonton.1

Oil Sands Land Reclamation – Industry Practices Oil sands developments are subject to strict government reclamation requirements and industry’s reclamation programs are extensive.

Reclamation planning begins during the first phase of project design.

A conservation and reclamation plan covering the life of the project is required prior to project approval and it is modified as the project advances to ensure it is realistic and will result in the desired end land use.

Oil sands producers perform reclamation on an ongoing basis as operations are completed in a given area. This practice is called progressive reclamation and the objective is to return the land to equivalent capability as soon as possible.

At the appropriate time, the operator will apply for a reclamation certificate from the government. Reclaimed land is certified by government when it can be returned to public use.

1. Alberta Environment, July 2010 Surface mining Surface mining requires an open-pit mine operation, similar to many coal, iron ore, copper and diamond mine 14 operations.

Once construction begins, surface soil and subsoil are removed and stockpiled for future use. The overburden soils above the oil sands are also removed and used for construction purposes or placed in a disposal area.

The oil sands are then extracted and moved by trucks to a cleaning facility where the material is mixed with hot water to separate the recoverable oil from sand.

Once oil sands mining is complete in a given area, the pit is backfilled, and the overburden materials are brought back and contoured to ensure proper drainage. The subsoil and soil are then replaced and the area is replanted with appropriate trees, shrubs and other native species.

Soil, vegetation, moisture and wildlife are monitored to ensure the landscape achieves the goals of the original reclamation plan. Remediation of tailings ponds, which contain a mixture of water, clay, sand and small amounts of residual oil produced through mining, is also a key part of the process. (continued on page 15)

Oil sands mining method

Mining shovels dig into sand Trucks take oil sands to crushers, Hot water is added to Bitumen is extracted The tailings are pumped and load it into huge trucks. where it is prepared for extraction. the oil sands and then from the oil sands in to the settling basin, transported via the separation vessels. where the water is recycled hydrotransport to and reused in the process. the extraction plant.

Government Issues First Oil Sands mining Reclamation Certificate

In March 2008, the Alberta government issued its first oil sands mining reclamation certificate to Syncrude Canada Ltd. (Syncrude) for the 104-hectare parcel of land known as Gateway Hill, north of Fort McMurray. Oil Sands: Key Facts It includes a rolling forested area with hiking trails and lookout points.

• 170 billion barrels of proven recoverable reserves Syncrude has mined its Mildred Lake site for about 30 years and about one quarter of its footprint has now • The second largest source of crude oil reserves been reclaimed. Reclamation is an ongoing process as in the world, after Saudi Arabia land becomes available. • 2009 production: 1.35 million barrels per day Syncrude is also progressively reclaiming at its Aurora • Projected production by 2025: 3.5 million site, with vegetation being planted as early as three barrels per day years after disturbance. Tailings Ponds In open-pit oil sands mining, companies use hot water to the rate of reclamation. The first tailings pond to be 15 separate very heavy oil (bitumen) from the sand and clay. reclaimed to a solid surface suitable for revegetation was The oil is then sent for further processing and the leftover completed in 2010 by Suncor Energy Inc. (Suncor). mixture of water, sand, clay and residual oil (referred to as Oil sands operators employ numerous mitigation tailings) is transported for storage in large ponds—often measures to limit and manage seepage from built in mined-out pits. tailings ponds, including construction of ditches and Once in the tailings pond, the sand separates rapidly and groundwater interception wells around tailings facilities to sinks to the bottom. Clarified water from the upper three capture seepage and runoff, which is then pumped back metres of the pond is recycled to the oil sands extraction into the tailings pond; and construction of cut-off walls to process. Eighty per cent or more of the water used in the prevent seepage migration. No untreated tailings waters extraction process is recycled. The bottom layer of the are released into waterways. tailings pond consists of a combination of clay and water The proposed design and location of tailings ponds are known as fine tailings, which take a long time to settle. thoroughly reviewed and approved by the regulator to Industry continues to develop better technologies and ensure they are suitable from environmental, resource approaches to tailings management in order to reduce conservation and economic points of view. Effective bird the environmental impact. There are several technologies deterrence is an important part of government’s approval that have been implemented and more that are being requirements for tailings ponds. tested to reduce the volume of tailings and increase

Bird deterrent systems in place Fine tailings Coarse sand Water for reuse Source: Shell Groundwater monitoring wells Dyke wall

Seepage collection ditches Low-grade oil sands

Source: Shell

(continued from page 14) New Direction For Tailings Since oil sands mining reclamation Research operations began in the 1960s, approximately Canadian Natural Resources, Imperial Oil, Shell Canada, 10 per cent of the active Suncor Energy, Syncrude Canada Ltd., Teck Resources mining footprint has been and Total E&P Canada announced plans in December or is being reclaimed by 2010 to work together in a unified effort to advance industry. To date, millions tailings management. of tree seedlings have Each company has pledged to share its existing been planted for oil sands tailings reclamation research and technology and to land reclamation. remove barriers to collaborating on future tailings research and development.

Right: For its Pond 1 reclamation project near Fort McMurray, Suncor Energy collected rat root seeds from a nearby marsh and grew them in a greenhouse for planting in the wetland that forms part of the reclaimed area. Case Studies Coal Mine 16 Reclamation Genesee Mine current reclamation research initiatives, and ongoing communication and involvement with the community. Environmental work at Genesee Mine has returned The primary objective is to reclaim areas and give them 600 hectares to productive farm land and wildlife habitat, multiple end-use capabilities similar to those that existed earning the mine partners, Capital Power (formerly EPCOR) prior to mining, including self-sustaining and naturally and Sherritt Coal, the 2009 Alberta Chamber of Resources’ maturing wildlife habitats through reforestation and (ACR) Major Reclamation Award. reestablishing wetlands.

The Genesee mine is located about 80 kilometres west of Edmonton, and provides 5.5 million tonnes of coal per year for the Genesee Generating Station, which produces electricity for about 500,000 people.

Coal Valley Mine Sherritt’s coal business in Alberta includes the Coal Valley Mine, which is located approximately 100 kilometres south of Edson in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. In operation since 1978, the mine sells the majority of its production on the world export market.

Coal operations disturb land as part of the mining process.

Reclaimed agricultural land at the Genesee Mine. Therefore, a significant component of the Coal Valley Mine’s environmental program involves returning disturbed land to productive use. “Capital Power is committed to ongoing research to find ways of increasing the biodiversity of the lands that we reclaim,” says George Greenhough, Manager of Land and Environment Services at Capital Power. “As one example, we’ve been working in partnership with the University of Alberta and other industrial partners to conduct aspen seedling research on reclaimed mine land. By planting different types of aspen seedlings in various stages of growth and planting conditions, we can use the results of the research to facilitate our reforestation efforts in the mine.”

Once the coal in a particular mining area has been depleted, reclamation plans are set into action. The main thrust of reclamation has been creation of agricultural lands for cattle grazing, hay and cultivated crops. The partners

have also taken on the challenge of re-creating a diverse Sherritt Coal created Silkstone Lake from a mined-out pit. boreal forest by using new reforestation practices to create natural treed areas within the agricultural landscape. The reclamation process provides an opportunity to apply Genesee Mine’s comprehensive land reclamation plan innovative methods and practices to create landforms includes reestablishment of wetlands and natural creek that are equivalent to those that existed prior to mining. bodies, and the development of wildlife corridors. Determining the best utilization of reclaimed land is Genesee Mine was nominated for the ACR award made in consultation with government authorities and by Alberta Environment. The award recognizes the local stakeholders. mine’s reclamation goals and achievements, past and One example of innovative reclamation at the site was the important values, including a functioning ecosystem, creation of sport fishing lakes from mined-out pits in areas healthy water, valuable wildlife habitat, and places for where such fishing opportunities did not exist previously. recreation.” Most recently, Teck has been working with communities of interest on land-use planning for the Luscar 17 Reclamation work included the construction and MSL, and here too, reclamation is a tool that can be used development of Lovett and Silkstone lakes, re-sloping and to conserve water and wildlife values. leveling of the shoreline and bottom configurations, with additional topsoil replacement and vegetative seeding. With a long history in the mining industry, Teck learns from the experience of past reclamation efforts—continuing to do A fisheries habitat was incorporated into the planning, and what works and adopting new practices. For example, Teck rainbow trout has been stocked successfully at the two is practicing progressive reclamation at its Cheviot project. lakes since 1995. In the past, reclamation did not happen until mining was The area is now a valued recreational destination for the complete. Symbaluk adds, “At the Cheviot project, we try people living near the Coal Valley mine. to reclaim areas soon after they are mined. We are targeting the re-establishment of healthy, natural ecosites in our reclamation. Hunters, naturalists, First Nations and others Cardinal River Operations have told us it is very important that native plants are used. This makes sense and we are taking this approach.”

Highvale Mine Located south of Lake Wabamun, about 70 kilometres west of Edmonton, Highvale Mine is one of three TransAlta- owned surface coal mines, and Canada’s largest surface strip coal mine, covering 12,140 hectares.

Highvale has been in operation since 1970. Currently, five pits are actively licensed and mined. Surface coal mining involves removing overlying rock layers to expose and extract coal reserves.

Teck’s award-winning Sphinx Lake reclamation project.

Teck’s Cardinal River Operations is located 45 kilometres south of Hinton. The area has a rich coal mining history dating back to the early 1900s. The original underground and open pit mines operated from the early 1900s to 1956. In 1970, mining resumed at Cardinal River’s Luscar mine and continued until 2004.

Today, Teck’s active mine at the Cardinal River Operations is the Cheviot project, located approximately 20 kilometres south of the Cardinal River coal plant. The first load of steel- making coal was produced from Cheviot in 2004, following a decade of planning and regulatory review. The Cheviot project has 25 years of coal reserves, making it an important part of A reclaimed wetland area at TransAlta’s Highvale Mine. the regional economy.

Teck is responsible for reclamation at both the Luscar Approximately 13 million tonnes of low-sulphur-thermal- mineral surface lease (MSL) and at its Cheviot project. grade coal are mined at Highvale each year and Approximately 50 per cent of the area disturbed at the delivered to TransAlta’s Sundance and Keephills thermal Luscar MSL has been reclaimed, including the award- generating plants. winning Sphinx Lake reclamation project, initiated in 2005. Since 1970, TransAlta has reclaimed 1,310 hectares of the “Mining is an interim land-use,” says Marc Symbaluk, 4,362 hectares of land that have been mined at Highvale. Superintendent, Environment at Teck’s Cardinal River The reclaimed land supports a variety of land uses such Operations. “The Sphinx Lake project demonstrates as agriculture, woodlands, wildlife habitat, recreation reclamation is critical to sustainable mining. Through good and wetlands. planning and reclamation, we work towards conserving Case Studies

Oil Sands 18 Reclamation Planning Reclamation First Nadeau says there are two key words about Kearl’s reclamation plans. “First, it’s progressive—we want to Imperial Oil get in and begin the environmental work earlier. Second, it’s adaptive, which means this plan will change as new Imperial Oil Resources (Imperial Oil) has started technologies and learnings emerge, and as societal construction of its Kearl Oilsands open pit mining project expectations about the desired end point of reclamation northeast of Fort McMurray. continue to shift.” It has also mapped out a thorough reclamation process, Total which, while exact, also has plenty of room to evolve. Total E&P Canada Ltd (Total) is planning to implement “Kearl is an incredibly complex undertaking,” says Stuart innovative new tailings management and reclamation Nadeau, environmental and regulatory manager for the processes at its new Joslyn North Mine Project that project. “We think we’ve got a comprehensive reclamation will result in less impact on the environment and earlier plan based on what we know today, but we will have to reclamation of the land. adapt and change as new practices and technologies emerge and as we continue to work hard to meet Located northwest of Fort McMurray and covering regulatory requirements.” 7,000 hectares, the Joslyn North Mine is scheduled to commence operations in 2017 and will reach a production Part of the reclamation plan for Kearl is to build three small rate of 100,000 barrels per day over the 20-year life of lakes connected to the existing Kearl Lake. These lakes will the project. replace the fish habitat that is lost as the mine progresses. While replacing the streams is not feasible, the new lakes will Total’s tailings management program and progressive be deeper, allowing more fish to survive the freeze over winter. reclamation processes will result in 60 per cent of the Joslyn North Mine site being reclaimed by the mine’s Kearl will also channel water through a series of man-made closure date of 2037 and the remaining area being wetlands and lakes to further filter the water before it is reclaimed within seven years of the end of the mine’s life. discharged back to the natural watershed. Total’s tailings management plan offers a new and improved process that reduces the size of tailings ponds by segregating the tailings into three streams according to their ability to consolidate and release water:

• Coarse tailings will be deposited into an external disposal area called “the sand beach”. Some of the fines particles will be trapped by the coarse sand and the beach will be trafficable after a matter of weeks.

Stuart Nadeau, • A second tailings stream containing half coarse sands environmental and and half fines will be enhanced by a thickening process regulatory manager for Imperial Oil's Kearl oil to release water for recycling, followed by beaching sands project. in a dedicated area. This stream is also referred to as thickened tailings.

As for tailings, Kearl will use proven procedures and • The third tailings stream will be froth treatment technologies to manage and reclaim the mixture of fine tailings containing mostly water, fines and residual clay, sand, bitumen and water. Initially, the fine tailings will hydrocarbon. This stream will be deposited in a be stored in an external tailings area that is surrounded by dedicated pond consisting of runoff water collected an extensive network of monitoring and collection wells to from the thickened tailings and sand beach areas. capture and return any potential seepage. As mined-out Fluid fines tailings settling in this pond will be treated areas become available, the fine tailings will be treated to and centrifuged to release water for recycling. A cake, release water and create a solid material. Then, the solid formed from residual, dewatered fines, will then be material will be placed in mined-out areas and covered with deposited on the sand beaches. overburden, topsoil and other materials to reclaim the land. Total’s approach will result in less river water intake, more Suncor pioneered Consolidated Tailings (also known as economic use of land space, as well as quicker reclamation Composite Tails or CT) technology in the 1990s. By adding of the land to a natural state that meets the objective of the gypsum, the company was able to accelerate the release Energy Resources and Conservation Board’s Directive 074 of water from the tailings and achieve a solid surface in 19 to achieve a trafficable surface within five years after the years rather than decades. The released water is recycled last deposition. in Suncor’s operations.

In the summer of 2010, Suncor received approval to Tailings Ponds Reclamation implement new tailings management technology—called the TROTM process—across its existing operations. Suncor The company expects to invest more than $1 billion Suncor marked an industry milestone in 2010 by becoming to implement the TROTM technology over two years, the first oil sands company to have a tailings pond with a potentially reducing tailings reclamation time by decades trafficable surface that has progressive reclamation under way. and speeding the return of oil sands mining sites to natural habitat. The plan is to ultimately transform Suncor’s 220-hectare Pond 1, established in the 1960s, near Fort McMurray TM Trademark of Suncor Energy Inc. into mixed wood forest and a small wetland capable of Syncrude supporting a variety of plants and wildlife. Syncrude has developed methods that will help it incorporate tailings into its reclamation program and use them in the construction of new landscapes.

Syncrude is currently implementing a multi-pronged approach to manage tailings and comply with government regulations as specified in the Energy Resources and Conservation Board (ERCB) Directive 074. The ERCB has approved Syncrude’s plan, which, after 2015, is expected to exceed the requirements of the directive. Toward this, Syncrude is developing and deploying three technologies: Bradley Wamboldt, General Manager, Tailings, Suncor, with oil sands mine Water Capping tailings solidified by the company’s TROTM tailings management process. Syncrude is successfully demonstrating how water can be layered over a deposit of fine tails to form a lake. This Suncor is highly motivated to accelerate the pace of is called water capping. Syncrude’s research with test tailings reclamation. The company’s eight tailings ponds ponds has shown that these lakes will evolve into natural cover a total of 31.5 square kilometres and contain ecosystems and, over time, support healthy communities approximately 259 million cubic metres of mature fine of aquatic plants, animals and fish. tailings (MFT). Active tailings ponds account for nearly 18 per cent of the 17,161 hectares of disturbed land Suncor is currently working to reclaim.

Nestled deep in Syncrude’s reclaimed landscape is Bill’s Lake—a beautiful, reclaimed wetland area. The wetland boasts a dense larch forest to the north, willow- lined shores, and grassy upland areas to the south. Monitoring schedules have been adapted to provide privacy for nesting waterfowl along the shoreline. Composite Tails Compensating for Disturbed Composite Tails combines fine tails with gypsum and Fish Habitat sand as the tailings are deposited. This mixture causes 20 the tailings to settle faster, enabling Syncrude to develop Shell landscapes that support grass, trees and wetlands. Shell broke new ground in the spring of 2010 when it Technologies like Composite Tails give Syncrude the ability completed a lake to compensate for fish habitat disturbed to create broadly diverse landscapes that help fulfill its by its Jackpine Mine oil sands development. Shell’s commitment to reclaim the land to a stable and biologically compensation lake, now named Jackpine Lake by the Fort self-sustaining state. MacKay Elders Advisory Group, was filled with water from Centrifuge Technology Muskeg Creek in early 2010.

Syncrude has committed to regulators that it will implement Jackpine Lake is a half-square-kilometre body of water centrifuge technology as an additional method to manage adjacent to Shell’s Jackpine Mine leases, which border its tailings. This technology involves putting tailings through Syncrude’s leasehold and reserve lands belonging to its vessels where a spinning action separates out the water. First Nations neighbour, Fort MacKay. The lake is uniquely Released water will be recycled for plant operations. The located in the watershed, as Muskeg Creek feeds it with soil product of the centrifuge process has sufficient density high-quality water year round and it lies right next to the and strength to be placed in deposits, then capped and Muskeg River. reclaimed. Extensive field tests have been done on this technology with the support of CANMET (Canada Centre Shell chose to build the lake 11 metres deep, nearly twice for Mineral and Energy Technology). the depth required as indicated by modeling, in order to increase the probability that fish could live in it year-round. Canadian Natural This helps the surrounding watershed by providing an Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Canadian Natural) increase in high-quality wintering habitat, which is limited in is commercializing promising new ways to manage the this area. tailings pond at its Horizon Oil Sands facility, 70 kilometres Shell used a conventionally constructed channel for the north of Fort McMurray. These new methods will require inlet to the lake from Muskeg Creek. However, for the outlet less storage space for fluid tailings, accelerate the process Shell pioneered a natural-paradigm approach by providing of reclamation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. a very small channel, allowing the water to erode its own channel. This will gradually result in a channel that perfectly Currently at Horizon, waste carbon dioxide (CO2) is being injected into the tailings slurry lines before the tailings fits the lake and matches natural channel characteristics, enter the pond, where it reacts to form carbonic acid. This stays in compliance with all water quality requirements and reaction changes the pH of the tailings mixtures and allows requires no reclamation. This also serves as a pilot project the fines clays, silts and sand to settle quickly and leave that will help Shell design future stream realignments in the clearer water, which can be immediately recycled for reuse most environmentally friendly manner. in the bitumen extraction process. Shell is reclaiming the lake’s shoreline entirely with During the next phase of Horizon development, Canadian indigenous species, including water-loving willows and rat Natural will implement another new tailings treatment root. Surrounding areas near the lake are being reclaimed process. As part of this new process, cyclones will with species that prefer drier ground. For this reclamation, remove the water from the coarse sand and thickeners Shell directly placed the surface layer of roots, soil and will remove the water from the fine clays, silts and sand. seeds that had been preserved during construction of The dewatered streams will then be combined with waste the lake, as well as additional reclamation soils removed and stockpiled from salvage activities on the Jackpine CO2.The resultant tailings will be deposited in the tailings disposal area where even more water will be released and Mine, resulting in one of the largest direct placements of reclamation material in the oil sands region to date. reused. Additionally, the CO2 will react with the minerals in the tailings to form mineral carbonates.

These new processes will reduce the footprint of the To read more case studies on technology tailings pond and, by increasing the amount of water and innovation in oil sands land use and available for recycling, decrease the amount of river water reclamation, please visit: needed to process bitumen. Canadian Natural expects www.capp.ca/energySupply/innovationStories/Land this process of sequestering CO2 into tailings will eliminate

about 219,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Canadian Natural

Canadian Natural created this 80-hectare fisheries compensation lake as part of its Horizon Oil Sands project located 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray. Fisheries that will be lost during the life of the Horizon Project are fully compensated for with the deep-water lake. In 2008, the lake was blessed by Aboriginal elders of Fort MacKay and Fort Chipewyan and named Wapan Sakahikan, which translates to Horizon Lake. The lake is now a gathering place for the elders to meet and discuss the development of Horizon Oil Sands. In 2010, the elders participated in the planting of traditional medicinal plants around the compensation lake to begin returning the social values of the land.

Photo Credits:

The Alberta Chamber of Resources wishes to thank those member organizations that provided images for this brochure: Border Paving (page 8); Canadian Natural (inside back cover); Capital Power (pages 6 and 16); Imperial Oil (page 18); Shell (page 15); Sherritt Coal (cover, and pages 4, 8, 11 and 16); Suncor (cover, and pages 7, 15 and 19); Syncrude (cover, and pages 12, 14 and 19); Teck (cover, inside front cover, and pages 11 and 17); and TransAlta (pages 5, 9 and 17). Links to More Information

Government of Alberta Alberta Energy www.energy.alberta.ca

Alberta Environment www.environment.alberta.ca

Energy Resources Conservation Board www.ercb.ca

Industry associationS Alberta Chamber of Resources www.acr-alberta.com

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers www.capp.ca

Centre for Energy www.centreforenergy.ca

The Coal Association of Canada www.coal.ca

The Oil Sands Developers Group www.oilsandsdevelopers.ca

Other resources Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute www.abmi.ca

Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions www.albertainnovates.ca/energy

Canadian Energy Research Institute www.ceri.ca

Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) www.cemaonline.ca

The Alberta Chamber of Resources wishes to thank the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers for its significant contribution in the development and production of this publication.

Contact Us For more information about mining and mine land use and reclamation in Alberta, as well as the Alberta Chamber of Resources and its programs, please contact us at: Alberta Chamber of Resources Tel: 1 (780) 420-1030 1940, Manulife Place Email: [email protected] 10180 – 101 Street www.acr-alberta.com Edmonton, AB T5J 3S4

January 2011 Printed in Canada