Working with universities, government and research institutes, other companies and partners, the Tailings EPA is bringing together the shared experience, expertise and financial commitment of oil sands mining companies to find new technologies and solutions to tailings.

The Tailings EPA has identified key issues facing the industry and is working to address the following:

  • the accumulation of fluid fine tailings (FFT) within tailings ponds through the development of new and improved tailings management technologies;
  • treatment of process affected water, the water which remains once the FFT are removed; and
  • accelerating the reclamation of the resulting tailings deposits so that they can be incorporated into the final reclaimed landscape.

COSIA and Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions (AI-EES) recently released a Tailings Technology Roadmap and Action Plan Project, a collaboration that also involved Alberta Energy, Natural Resources Canada, Alberta Environment & Sustainable Resource Development and the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board.  This plan provides a comprehensive review of technologies that will help industry identify a suite of actions that will accelerate the development of new and improved commercial tailings treatment technologies.

COSIA is the overarching collaborative hub within which companies set priorities, drive and share innovation and accelerate the pace of environmental performance improvements.

Examples of current projects include: