Oil Sands Tailings 101
Course Offerings
Oil Sands Tailings 101 | Feb 3 & 4, 2026 | 8:30 am – 4:30 pm MST | Online / Face-to-Face | Register Here
Who is this course for?
- Veterans or newcomers to the oil sands industry including engineers, technicians, technologists or lab operators
- Supporters, innovators or regulators in the oil sands industry
- Graduate students looking to improve their tailings management knowledge
What will you learn?
Learn from industry-experts in this two-day course and get an in-depth look into oil sands tailings management.
Day 1: Fundamentals of Tailings Management
In the first half of this course, you will explore the foundations of tailings management including the current state of tailings management, the processes controlling fluid fine tailings, and foundational technologies
Day 2: Testing and Evaluating Tailings Technologies
In the second half, you will focus on evaluating and testing new tailings technologies including the importance of robustness in testing methods.
At the end of course you'll have learned:
- The scale of operations and the regulations that drive the industry
- The impact of ore variability on tailings formation
- How operational and design decisions influence tailings volumes
- The fundamental science behind solid-liquid separation
- The unique characteristics of clays and how they inhibit solid-liquid separation
- The variety of tailings treatment technologies and how they work
- How to evaluate new technologies for optimal lab and pilot scale testing
What You'll Receive
- Two days of in-person or virtual instruction for 12-hours of Professional Development
- Synchronous (live) sessions will be recorded for registered participants to review later
- Additional resources and interactive learning options will be available using BrightSpace, our online learning management system
- All registrants will receive access to the course Brightspace site for 60 days
- Light breakfast, lunch, and tea/coffee will be provided for In-Person attendees
Testimonials
"A concise and industry-relevant overview"
“The Oil Sands Tailings 101 course offered by NAIT provides a concise and industry-relevant overview on the treatment and resulting minerology of Oil Sands tailings deposits in the Wood Buffalo region. I think professionals in the geological or geotechnical field may find this course useful thanks to instructors that provide an insight towards the research and development behind treated tailings facilities and answer questions related to why managing and studying the minerology of such deposits is important, industry wide, and over a long-term.”
Ussama Bin Ajmal
Project Coordinator, Mikisew Conetec
"The perfect way for me to get back into the tailings headspace"
"Oil Sands Tailings 101 was the perfect way for me to get back into the tailings headspace after years of being away. The course thoroughly highlights the fundamentals of tailings, including the basic science of tailings, as well as overviews of the practical implementations across the region. I recommend this course to anyone just starting in oil sand tailings, or if you've been away for a while."
Cory Huber
Sr. Mining and Tailings Engineer at Suncor