The Athabasca Oil Sands By: Nick Slauenwhite

Maps of Athabasca’s Oil Sands

Location The oil sands of Athabasca are mostly located in and around the town of Ft. Mcmurray. The sands are in the North Eastern part of Alberta stretching out over km3 of land. Through the area runs the Athabasca River, which the oil sands are named after. This area is one of the most oil rich in Canada.

Minerals Found in the Area Bitumen-consist of of crude bitumen, a semi-solid form of crude oil, silica sand, clay minerals, and water. Bitumen is used in many ways including by the first nations to water proof their birch bark canoes.

How its Mined The Athabasca oil fields are very odd in that they can be mined on the surface. The Albertan government states that almost 10% of the oil sands are surface mineable. This makes it a lot easier to process the oil out of the sand mixture. The mixture is taken to processing facilities to be seperated. This is one of the reasons why they are called the sands.

References ar_Sands