Canada-cities Service, Ltd.

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of Alberta, Government of

Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, As Represented by the Minister

Imperial Oil Limited

Gulf Oil Canada Ltd.

Ontario Energy Corporation

Pan Canadian Petroleum Limited

Esso Resources Canada Limited

Gulf Canada Resources Limited

Petro-canada Exploration Inc.

Alvin Maskwa

Lloyd W Trevoy

Victor Kaminsky

Lloyd Trevoy

The titanium and zirconium-based minerals, present in the first stage centrifuge tailings from the hot water process for extraction of bitumen from bituminous sands, may be concentrated by a dry screening process. The tailings are burned off to provide a dry, essentially carbon-free, mineral mixture. By screening the mixture into three streams of different particle size range, silica and clays may be rejected as coarse and fine materials respectively, while titanium and zirconium minerals may be concentrated in the intermediate stream. The titanium and zirconium concentrate stream may be advanced to high tension and magnetic separation steps known in conventional processing of heavy minerals, for further beneficiation.

Beneficiation of heavy minerals from bituminous sands residues by dry

An oily mass of solids tailings is derived from flotation of bitumen during hot water extraction of bituminous sands, and subsequent separation of most of the bitumen from associated solids. This oily mass contains a high concentration of heavy minerals, in the order of 10% by weight titanium and 4% zirconium. The tailings are introduced into a hot reaction zone and contacted with oxygen while agitating the solids. The bitumen associated with the solids is burned, as is residual coke left from the combustion of the bitumen. The product particles are discrete, dry and clean. They can be slurried with water and passed through gravity concentrating means, such as a spiral, to produce a concentrate containing in the order of 18% titanium and 8% zirconium.

Method for concentrating heavy minerals in the solids tailings from hot

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Edmonton, Canada

Alvin Maskwa