Oil Sands Tailings 101

Learn from industry-experts in this two-day course and get an in-depth look into oil sands tailings management. This course is ideal for seasoned veterans or newcomers to the oil sands industry, as well as innovators, supporters, regulators and anyone eager to deepen their technical expertise.

Dates:  
February 4 & 5, 2025 
Format:  
In-Person or Virtual 

Day 1: Fundamentals of Tailings Management 

In the first half of this course, we’ll explore the foundations of tailings management including the current state of tailings management, the processes controlling fluid fine tailings, and foundational technologies 

Day 2: Testing and Evaluating Tailings Technologies 

In the second half, we’ll focus on evaluating and testing new tailings technologies including the importance of robustness in testing methods. 

What You Will Learn

• The scope and scale of oil sands operations and industry regulations

• Ore viability's role in tailings formation

• The impact of operational and design decisions on tailings volumes

• Methods for characterizing tailings and interpreting the data

• The science behind solid-liquid separation and its challenges

• Unique characteristics of clays and how they inhibit solid-liquid separation

• A range of tailings treatment technologies and their applications

• Approaches for evaluating new technologies for optimal lab and pilot-scale testing

In Person Attendance  

Join us in person at NAIT Main Campus, Productivity & Innovation Centre, Room PIC315.

A light breakfast, tea/coffee breaks, and lunch will be provided.  

Parking is available on campus and you are responsible for the daily parking fee. Please select either Lot L or M from the map. 

Virtual Attendance 

Virtual attendees will receive a meeting invite to join via MS Teams. 

All attendees will have access to course materials, including session recordings, for 90 days. 

Note: If we do not reach the minimum number of in person registrations, all fees will be reduced to "virtual attendees" and the remainder refunded to those who purchased in person tickets. 

Your Instructors 

Heather Kaminsky first delivered this course in 2020, driven by a passion for sharing her industry and applied research expertise with practitioners. Together with her colleagues at NAIT Applied Research, Heather continues to expand her knowledge of the industry and is committed to equipping others with the tools for success.  

Learn more about the instructors: 

Heather Kaminsky

Simon Sun

Jason Ng

Note for Post Secondary Students!

Please note that student tickets will open soon!

If you have any questions, please contact vickyq@nait.ca.