Background
The Athabasca oil sands deposits are located in Northern Alberta, Canada. These deposits date back more than 100 million years, cover an area in excess of 30,000 square kilometres, and are one of the largest known accumulations of hydrocarbons in the world.
Heavy minerals have long been known to exist in Alberta's oil sands in minor quantities. These minerals are attracted to bitumen and become greatly concentrated by the oil sands bitumen extraction process. The final stage of bitumen extraction from oil sands occurs in the froth treatment plant. Froth treatment tailings contain the majority of minerals as well as residual bitumen.
Titanium Corporation is developing unique, environmentally friendly technologies to recover heavy minerals, primarily zircon, and a significant portion of bitumen from this tailings stream (the "Oil Sands Project").
An Exciting Opportunity
Titanium Corporation is focusing its technical, engineering and financial resources on the commercialization of its Oil Sands Project for the following reasons:
- Canada's oil sands have a long reserve life.
- The oil recovery process greatly concentrates valuable heavy minerals into a tailings stream, from which Titanium Corporation recovers its products.
- There is opportunity for attractive additional bitumen recovery from the oil sands resource.
- Creation of a new "value-added" industry in Alberta and Canada with potential for increased revenues for stakeholders
- There is no mining involved, only processing of a tailings stream.
- The infrastructure is in place in Alberta.
- There is the potential for reduction of intensity of greenhouse gas emissions (of the oil sands industry) of carbon dioxide CO2 and nitrous oxide NOx.
- There is potential for a large reduction of emissions of volatile organic carbons (VOCs)
Processing Operation
The heavy minerals contained in the oil sands deposits are concentrated by the bitumen extraction/recovery process (en route to oil production). The majority of these minerals are contained in the oil sands froth treatment plant (FTP) tailings stream. Titanium Corporation's process will intercept FTP tailings near their discharge into the tailings pond.
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Two processing facilities will treat the material recovered. A Hydrocarbon & Water Recovery Plant will recover hydrocarbons and water and produce a Heavy Mineral Concentrate. This concentrate will then be separated in a Mineral Separation Plant into final products: ilmenite, leucoxene and zircon. These processing facilities are planned to be in Fort McMurray, Alberta.
The Hydrocarbon & Water Recovery Plant
The Hydrocarbon & Water Recovery Plant (HWRP) will recover hydrocarbons and water and concentrate the heavy minerals in this waste tailings stream. The heavy mineral concentrate will then be transported to the Mineral Separation Plant (MSP).
The Mineral Separation Plant
In the Mineral Separation Plant, the heavy mineral concentrate will be separated out as final mineral products: zircon, ilmenite and leucoxene. These final products will then be trucked to the railhead at Lynton just south of Fort McMurray where they will be railed to North American markets or to a port site for export. The major export markets are Asia and European regions.
Tailings and waste products from Titanium Corporation's mineral processing facilities will be returned to the existing tailings pond of the oil sands producer.
Final Products
Due to strong world-wide demand and pricing for zircon, Titanium Corporation is focusing on the development of zircon markets. The larger prospective markets include zircon flour, ceramics and chemicals.
Sustainable Development
Titanium Corporation's oil sands project complements the Sustainable Mining Principles developed by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and adopted by the oil sand industry. These Principles call for performance measures in areas such as footprint of disturbance, speed of reclamation, emissions, energy usage, and water usage.
Environmental improvements associated with Titanium Corporation's project could enhance performance in a number of these areas.
Potential Benefits and Environmental improvements include:
- Utilization of waste tailings from non-renewable resources
- Eliminates the need for mining in the heavy mineral recovery process
- Reduces oil sands tailings volumes by converting waste into valuable products
- Additional bitumen recovery from the oil sands resource
- Significant reduction of volatile organic carbons (VOCs) and particulates emissions through the recovery of additional bitumen and hydrocarbons otherwise lost in the tailings
- Reduction of the intensity of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions
- Production of other mineral products
- Creation of a new sustainable industry in Alberta and Canada
In the Mineral Separation Plant, the heavy mineral concentrate will be separated out as final mineral products: zircon, ilmenite and leucoxene. These final products will then be trucked to the railhead at Lynton just south of Fort McMurray where they will be railed to North American markets or to a port site for export. The major export markets are Asia and European regions.
