AER conditionally approves tailings management plan for oilsands mine

The Alberta Energy Regulator has conditionally approved a tailings management plan for an oilsands mine, despite its reliance on an unproven reclamation method.

Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills mine is proposing to chemically treat its tailings, concentrate them all in a single deposit by 2073 and then cover the residue with water to create a large pit lake.

The regulator in its decision says it will require the Fort Hills mine to submit by Sept. 30, 2021, a plan for a project to demonstrate how its passive aquatic storage system will work.

It says it must present a research plan for its water-capping technology by September 2023.