History Timeline Nature’s treasures Flora Birds Canadian geologist 1719 A Cree man, Wa-pa-su, brings oil sand to a Sidney Ells dedicated Hudson Bay post. Alfalfa American Crow Abasand Oils Ltd. his life to the study 1787 Explorer Alexander MacKenzie makes the Aspen Poplar American Robin of the and first written account of oil sand in his journal. Balsam Fir Bald Eagle convinced the Canadian 1906 Private drilling occurs in the Athabasca Birch Black-Billed Magpie government to grant region by various pioneers. Black Poplar Blue Jay a lease to American 1927 Robert Fitzsimmons forms the International Bluebell Boreal Chickadee entrepreneur Max Ball. Bitumen Company and builds the first Cottonwood Brewer’s Blackbird Ball and his associates commercial oil sands plant at . Cow Parsnip Canada Goose formed Abasand Oils Ltd. 1928 Dr. Karl Clark patents a hot water technique Dog Wood Canada Warbler of , Archives A2003 Provincial to separate bitumen from oil sands. Gooseberry Common Raven In 1930, Max Ball was Honeysuckle Downy Woodpecker 1930 Max Ball, of Abasand Oils Ltd. obtains a granted a lease for an Horse Tail Fox Sparrow bituminous sands permit on properties at oil sands operation on Low Bush Cranberry Gray Jay the Horse River. the Horse River. On Oak Fern Gull September 1, 1936, 1936 Official opening ofAbasand Oils Ltd. Raspberry Hairy Woodpecker Sidney Ells went on to work for the the Abasand Oils plant At the time, the plant was not operational. Red Currant Least Flycatcher Great Canadian Oil Sands project as officially opened. It a senior advisor and was around to 1941 Abasand Oil Ltd. is operating regularly until Sandbar Willow Merlin see the first Fort McMurray boom. operated on a regular November 21 when the separation plant Saskatoon Berry Purple Finch He passed away in Victoria, British basis by 1941 and was burns down. Stinging Nettle Red-Tailed Hawk Columbia, in 1971. Provincial Archives of Alberta, A12023 producing 200 barrels a 1944 Reconstruction on Abasand is complete, White Spruce Ruffled Grouse day. They drilled holes operations recommence. Wild Rose Western Tanager in the oil sand, inserted blasting powder and set it 1945 June 16, a welder’s torch ignites oil sand, Wild Strawberry Yellow Warbler Self-guided off. The loose sand was loaded onto dump trucks and destroying the entire plant. Operations hauled to the separation plant. are abandoned. historic walking tour What to bring when you go and map In 1941, a fire broke out in the plant’s powerhouse, 1967 Official opening ofGreat Canadian Oil Sands Company (now Suncor). destroying it. The plant was rebuilt with a greater • a partner capacity for operation. A second fire in 1945 1978 Official opening ofSyncrude . • bags and a spoon to scoop your own oil sand • a bottle of water completely destroyed the plant. Attempts to 2002 Albian Sands officially begins production • bug spray restart operations were unsuccessful. at the Muskeg River Mine. Abasand Oils Ltd. is significant • good hiking shoes/clothes because it represents the rise and • a camera fall of a pioneering oil sands effort. Glossary The hike is about 1.5 hours long. Please be aware that It was the first oil sands plant to pipe a refined the Abasand Trail into the Horse River Valley is quite product. Barrel ~ A common unit of measurement for Extraction ~ Process of separating the bitumen steep and could be quite challenging for some people. crude oil. It equals 159 litres, 35 Imperial gallons, from the oil sand. At its peak, Abasand Oils Ltd. had 150 employees or 42 US gallons. Oil sand ~ A naturally occurring mixture of bitumen, and produced 500 barrels of bitumen per day. Bitumen ~ Petroleum that exists as a semi-solid water, sand, and clay. Although these numbers are very small compared to companies today, the plant was a pioneer of its or solid in natural deposits. It is the molasses-like Oil sand lease ~ A long-term agreement with the Oil Sands Discovery Centre substance which makes up 1%–18% of the oil sand. time and will not be forgotten. provincial government which permits the lease-holder 515 MacKenzie Boulevard Coking ~ A process used to break down heavy oil to extract bitumen and other minerals contained in Fort McMurray, Alberta T9H 4X3 “ Once a person falls under the spell molecules into light ones by removing the carbon the oil sands within the specific lease area. (780) 743-7167 of oil sand and gets tar on his boots, that remains as a residue called coke. Reclamation ~ The process of returning excavated www.oilsandsdiscovery.com he can never shake it off.” Coke shill ~ A furnace which uses coke (residue) land back to its original, self-sustainable state. ~ Dr. Karl Clark as a fuel source.

160026 Ab Culture.indd 1 12-07-10 9:09 AM The Abasand hike The Abasand Trail system is not owned or maintained by the Government of Alberta. * 1 Abasand Drive * Athabasca River * > This is the road that you will take to get to the The Athabasca River originates from the Columbia N beginning of your Abasand Hike. Abasand Heights Icefield in Jasper National Park, Alberta. The river is one of the older communities in Fort McMurray. was designated a Canadian Heritage River for its 11 importance to the fur trade and development of Highway 63 2 Trail opening the Canadian West. 10 The opening to the trail is in Abasand Heights, across from the École Boreal School. 4 Walking trail to the plant site This area is very typical of the boreal forest; 7 winding rivers and lots of trees! Some local tree species include birch, white spruce, black spruce 8 1 and aspen. Wildlife including black bears, moose, 9 deer, foxes, beavers and red squirrels thrive in the 3 boreal forest and are common sights. 2

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4 6 5 3 View point of the Horse River This view is what the early pioneers would have seen when they came through this area. The Horse River Valley is part of the Boreal Forest, which is Canada’s largest eco-zone and makes up about 0 200 400 metres 48% of Alberta. The origin of the river’s name is unknown, but some have suggested it was called this because a horse once fell through the ice and into the river. Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3556 7 Coking shills 9 Dig your own oil sand! 5 Overview of the site The walls located here are what are believed Here in this open area where you can see there is From here if you look to the north west you can see Here you can see the out cropping of the Abasand to be the coking shills, or storage containers for still rich oil sand. You are welcome to hand mine the area where the Alberta Salt Company Ltd. plant plant site. Try to picture this area as it was in 1938. products created during the coking process. some oil sand to take home as a souvenir! site was, and the Athabasca River beyond. There is The outcropping you see here is the same as in A major challenge faced by the site was the cost no access to those two points from here. this photo. to transport these products by rail. Initially, Max 10 Residential remains Ball thought he would be charged 12¢ per barrel, When Abasand Oils Ltd. first started operating, a however the actual cost was $1.78 per barrel. bridge was constructed across the river and a work Alberta Salt Company Ltd. plant site Abasand Oils Ltd. plant site * 6 camp was built for the employees. In 1944, 12 frame In 1897, Count Alfred von Hammerstein travelled Sidney Ells, a senior engineer for the Federal 8 Remnants of the dam homes were built and equipped with running water through this area on his way north to the Mines Branch, arrived in the area in 1913 to do Remnants of the dam can also be seen along the and power—a luxury that even Fort McMurray Gold Rush. He stopped in Fort McMurray to surveys and field explorations with oil sands. river bank. A water source is essential for oil sands didn’t have yet! drill for pools of oil and ended up finding salt! The Horse River lease was encouraged by Sidney development because of the hot water extraction Hammerstein’s discovery led to the birth of the Ells. In return, he had to build a plant capable of process. During the days of Abasand Oils, the 11 Stone fireplace first commercial salt plant in Alberta. Alberta Salt processing 250 tons of oil sand per day. So, the Horse River was used to obtain water for processing. The stone fireplace on the other side of the river Company Ltd. operated from 1925–1927. Abasand Oils Ltd. Plant Site was built! bank is all that remains of the cabin of Fred Sage, the plant superintendent.

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