Albian Sands Intermediate Dyke Liner
Fort McMurray, AB
PRODUCTS USED:
- Bentofix GCL Geosynthetic Liner
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Brock White Geotechnical, Calgary, AB.
ENGINEER: Klohn Crippen Consultants Ltd., Vancouver
PROJECT NOTES: Albian Sands, 75km north of Fort McMurray, AB, owns the Muskeg River mining operation. At full production it produces 155,000 barrels of bitumen for the Athabasca Sands Oil Project (a joint venture between Shell, Chevron and Marathon Oil) which provides around 10% of Canada's oil needs. The Muskeg River mine is expected to produce 1.65 billion barrels of bitumen over 30 years - equal to twice the conventional oil reserves currently remaining in Alberta.
Albian constructed a large dyke for their on-site tailings pond. Brock White Geotechnical worked with engineers from Klohn-Crippen Consultants from the inception of the design process to specify the Bentofix GCL as the best method of making the berm impermeable. The GCL was used in lieu of a compacted clay liner to provide substantial savings to the owner in terms of equipment and material cost, as well as installation time.