Technology visions for mining at Syncrude

In the last 20 years, there have been considerable changes in the mining equipment and mining methods used at Syncrude. In the next 20 years, it is expected that there will be further significant changes in the technologies that Syncrude employs. These changes will cover a wide spectrum and will range from derivative changes (changes that are improvements to current mining techniques) to breakthrough changes (changes that radically alter the way in which mining is conducted). Between these two extremes are platform changes that represent a significant advance in the technologies currently employed. Some of the changes within the derivative category include the move to larger and more efficient mobile equipment…