CA2526336C - Method and apparatus for oil sands ore mining - Google Patents

Abstract

A system for recovering hydrocarbons from oil sands includes a mobile excavator, a mobile crusher for receiving and crushing the excavated ore, and a mobile conveyor to transport crushed ore to an ore processing unit, which further crushes the ore and mixes same with water to form a slurry. The slurry is transported to a hydrocarbon separation facility. In one aspect, the ore processing unit is also mobile, independent of the excavator. In a further embodiment, the invention provides a mineral separating facility comprising a three-stage counter-current cyclone system. In a further embodiment, the mineral separating facility is also mobile The invention also provides a process for bitumen recovery from oil sand ores. In a further aspect, a system and process is provided for the mobile excavating and treatment of oil sand ore, including improved treatment of tailings for rapid water recovery.

Description

2 FIELD OF THE INVENTION

3 [0001] This invention relates to mining technology for recovering bitumen bearing ore

4 sands from the earth. More particularly, the invention relates to a mobile system of equipment for increasing the efficiency of the ore mining operation. The invention also 6 provides a system and method for separation of bitumen from a slurry of the mined ore.

9 [0002] The northern Alberta region is known to contain vast quantities of petroleum.
However, such petroleum is primarily in the form of bitumen intermixed with solid mineral 11 components. This mixture is commonly referred to as "oil sands" or "tar sands", which 12 generally is a mixture of bitumen, water, and mineral (or mineral component). Although the 13 term "sand" is commonly used in reference to the mineral component of the mixture, it is 14 well known that this term is meant to include various other components such as clay etc. that may naturally be present in the ore. Oil sand deposits are found over a large geographic area 16 and, on a weight basis, consist primarily of the aforementioned solid mineral components.
17 [0003] Various methods and equipment have been developed over many years for 18 mining oil sands and for extracting the desired hydrocarbon content from the mined ore.
19 Some recent examples of known methods are provided in the following Canadian patents and patent applications: 2,325,596; 2,332,207; 2,092,121; 2,453,697;
2,029,795; 2,000,984;
21 2,235,938; 2,195,604; 2,222,667; and 2,217,623.
22 [0004] In general, an oil sand extraction process involves the following steps:
23 a) Excavation of the ore from a mine face.
24 b) Comminution of the ore to reduce it to transportable components.
c) Combining the comminuted ore with water to form a slurry. Generally, the slurry 26 is formed with hot water and optionally other additives.
27 d) Pumping the ore slurry to a separation facility to separate the mineral from the 28 hydrocarbon components. The pumping step is generally referred to as a "hydro-transport"
29 process. During the slurry formation and hydro-transport processes, large constituents in the ore are further reduced in size, or ablated, and the process of bitumen separation from the 21455070.5 1 1 solid mineral components is commenced. These effects are refeiTed to as "conditioning" of 2 the ore slurry.
3 e) Separating the bulk of the hydrocarbon (i.e. bitumen) content from the mineral 4 component in one or more "primary separation vessels" (PSV) wherein the bitumen portion is entrained in a froth that is drawn off from the surface of the slurry while a significant 6 portion of the mineral is removed as a first solids stream or first "tailings".
7 1) The froth is treated to separate the bitumen component from the water and 8 remaining mineral component. The tailings (i.e. remaining water and mineral) are treated to 9 separate water from the mineral. The water is preferably recycled.

[0005] Various other intervening steps are also known such as withdrawal of a 11 middlings layer from the PSV etc. to further increase the yield of bitumen from the ore.
12 [0006] As will be known to persons skilled in the art, the large-scale nature of oil sands 13 mining requires processing facilities of an immense size. As such, these facilities are 14 generally fixed in position. For this reason, transport of the ore between the various above-mentioned steps generally involves the use of trucks, conveyors, or pipelines or various 16 other known equipment. However, as operations continue, it will be appreciated that the 17 mine face recedes further away from the permanent facilities. This would, therefore, 18 increase the transport distances and time resulting in increased operating and maintenance 19 costs.
[0007] There exists therefore a need to increase the efficiency of the transport 21 processes to reduce operating costs. One suggestion that has been proposed is for having 22 one or more of the excavating equipment to be mobile so as to follow the receding mine 23 face. An example of this method is taught in Canadian application number 2,453,697, 24 wherein the excavating and crushing equipment is made mobile so as to advance along with the mine face. The crushed ore is then deposited onto a conveyor, which then transports the 26 ore to a separation facility. This reference also teaches that the conveyor and separation 27 facility can periodically be relocated to a different site once the mine face advances a 28 sufficient distance. However, such relocation would involve considerable time and expense.
29 100081 Another problem faced with respect to oil sand mining involves the fact that sand constitutes the primary weight fraction of the mineral content of the mined ore. Thus, it is 31 desired to separate the mineral as soon as possible "upstream" so as to minimise transport 21455070.5 2 costs. In addition, the transport of mineral results in considerable wear on the transport mechanisms, which further increase operating costs. However, separation of the mineral must be done in such a way as to maximize bitumen yield from the ore. Thus, there exists a need for an efficient mineral separation system.
[00091 One embodiment of the present invention seeks to alleviate at least some of the problems associated with the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In one aspect, the present invention provides a mobile oil sand excavation and processing system that is capable of excavating, comminuting or crushing, and slurrifying oil sand ore and of moving with a receding mine face.
[0011] In another aspect, the present invention provides a primary separation system that efficiently separates mineral from the hydrocarbon components. Such separation system comprises, in one aspect, three cyclonic separators arranged in a counter-current manner.
100121 In another aspect, the invention provides a compact primary separation system that is capable of movement along with the mobile excavation and processing system.
100131 In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a system for extracting and processing oil sands ore excavated at a section of a mine face. The system includes an independently mobile excavating unit for excavating the ore and an independently mobile ore crushing unit for receiving and crushing the excavated ore, the ore crushing unit being adapted to follow the excavating unit. The system also includes an ore processing unit for receiving and further crushing the crushed ore and for forming a water based slurry therewith, and a conveyor extending between the ore crushing unit and the ore processing unit, the conveyor having an ore receiving end for receiving ore from the ore crushing unit and an ore depositing end for depositing the ore to the ore processing unit, with at least the ore receiving end of the conveyor being mobile to follow and receive crushed ore from the ore crushing unit while the ore crushing unit advances with the independently mobile excavating unit along the mine face.
10013A1 The system may include a retaining unit to receive and retain a volume of crushed ore from the ore crushing unit and to supply the crushed ore to the receiving end of the conveyor.

10013B1 The conveyor may include two or more conveyor units connected in series.
[0013C] The conveyor may be mounted on a frame and the frame may be provided with a driven track.
[0013D] The ore processing unit may be independently mobile.
[0013E] The system may further include a primary separation facility for separating the slurry into a mineral component stream and a hydrocarbon containing froth stream, the primary separation facility being in fluid communication with the ore processing unit through a hydro-transport pipeline.
[0013F] The primary separation facility may include a plurality of cyclonic separation vessels.
[0013G] The plurality of cyclonic separation vessels may include three separation vessels in a countercurrent arrangement and the slurry may be fed to an upstream vessel and hydrocarbon free water may be fed to a downstream vessel.
[0013H] The primary separation facility may be provided on a first mobile platform.
[0013I] The first mobile platform may be moveable independently of the excavating unit.
[0013J] The first mobile platform may be provided with skids or tracks to facilitate the movement.
[0013K] The system may further include a froth concentration facility for separating the 10013L] The froth concentration facility may be provided on a second mobile platform.
[0013M] The second mobile platform may be moveable independently of the excavating unit.
[0013N] The system may further include a fine tailings separation means for separating the water and fine tailings stream into a water recycle stream and a dewatered fine tailings stream.
[00130] The fine tailings separation means may be provided downstream of the primary separation facility.

[0013P] The fine tailings separation means may be chosen from the group consisting of a decanter, a hydrocyclone, and a thickener.
[0013Q] The independently mobile excavating unit may be operable to continually advance in an arc about the ore depositing end of the conveyor to excavate further sections of the mine face. The independently mobile ore crushing unit may be operable to continually follow the excavating unit to receive and crush further excavated ore from the further sections of the mine face. The ore receiving end of the conveyor may be operable to continually follow the ore crushing unit to receive the further excavated ore from the ore crushing unit while the ore depositing end remains in position for depositing the further excavated ore to the ore processing unit.
[0013R] The ore receiving end of the conveyor may be operable to move in an arc about the ore depositing end of the conveyor in order to follow the ore crushing unit and receive further excavated ore from the ore crushing unit as the ore crushing unit advances with the independently mobile excavating unit proximate the mine face.
[0013S] The ore depositing end of the conveyor may be operable to be pivotally anchored.
[0013T] The conveyor may include a plurality of segments including at least one mobile segment.
[0013U] The conveyor may include a plurality of segments, and each of the plurality of segments may be operable to be independently moved or removed.
[0014] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a system for extracting and processing oil sands ore excavated at a mine face. The system includes an excavating unit for excavating the ore, and an ore crushing unit for receiving and crushing the excavated ore, the ore crushing unit being adapted to move with the excavating unit. The system also includes an ore processing unit for receiving and further crushing the excavated ore and for forming a water based slurry therewith, and a conveyor extending between the excavating unit and the ore processing unit, the conveyor having an ore receiving end for receiving ore from the excavating unit and an ore depositing end for depositing the ore to the ore processing unit, with at least the ore receiving end of the conveyor being mobile to follow and receive crushed ore from the ore crushing unit while the ore crushing unit advances with the excavating unit along the mine face. The system also includes a primary separation facility for separating the slurry into a first tailings stream and a primary hydrocarbon froth stream, the primary separation facility being connected to the ore processing unit by a hydro-transport pipeline. The primary separation facility includes a plurality of cyclonic separation vessels provided in a counter-current arrangement.
10014A1 The slurry may be fed to the most upstream of the separation vessels and hydrocarbon-free water may be fed to the most downstream of the separation vessels.
[0014B] The system may further include a froth concentration facility for separating the primary hydrocarbon froth stream into a final hydrocarbon stream and a water and fine tailings stream.
[0014C] The system may further include a water recovery unit for receiving the water and fine tailings stream and for forming a water recycle stream and a second tailings stream including the fine tailings.
[0014D1 The first and second tailings streams may be combined and transported to a tailings treatment facility.
[0014E] The system may further include a scalping unit to remove bitumen rich froth from the slurry prior to the slurry entering the primary separation facility.
10014F1 One or more of the excavating units, the ore crushing unit, the ore processing unit, the conveyor, and the primary separation facility may be independently mobile.
10014G1 The excavating unit may be independently mobile and operable to continually advance in an arc about the ore depositing end of the conveyor to excavate further sections of the mine face. The ore crushing unit may be operable to continually follow the excavating unit to receive and crush further excavated ore from the further sections of the mine face. The ore receiving end of the conveyor may be operable to continually follow the ore crushing unit to receive the further excavated ore from the ore crushing unit while the ore depositing end remains in position for depositing the further excavated ore to the ore processing unit.
[0014H] The ore receiving end of the conveyor may be operable to move in an arc about the ore depositing end of the conveyor in order to follow the ore crushing unit and receive further excavated ore from the ore crushing unit as the ore crushing unit advances with the excavating unit proximate the mine face.

6 [00141] The ore depositing end of the conveyor may be operable to be pivotally anchored.
[0014J] The conveyor may include a plurality of segments including at least one mobile segment.
[0014K1 The conveyor may include a plurality of segments, and each of the plurality of segments may be operable to be independently moved or removed.
[0015] In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a process for bitumen recovery from an oil sand ore deposit. The process involves excavating bitumen containing ore from a section of an oil sand deposit using an independently mobile excavating unit, crushing the ore using an independently mobile ore crushing unit, and receiving the ore at an ore receiving end of a conveyor, with at least the ore receiving end of the conveyor being mobile to follow and receive crushed ore from the ore crushing unit while the ore crushing unit advances with the independently mobile excavating unit along the mine face.
The process also involves transporting the ore using the conveyor to a slurry facility, and forming a slurry by mixing the crushed ore with water.
[0015A] The process may involve receiving and retaining a volume of crushed ore from the ore crushing unit and supplying the crushed ore to the receiving end of the conveyor.
[0015B] The conveyor may include two or more conveyor units connected in series.
[0015C] The conveyor may be mounted on a frame and the frame may be provided with a driven track.
[0015D] Forming the slurry by mixing the crushed ore with water may involve forming the slurry by mixing the crushed ore with water using an independently mobile ore processing unit.
[0015E] The process may further involve transporting the slurry to a primary separation facility, the facility including a plurality of cyclonic separation vessels arranged in a counter current configuration, the plurality of separation vessels including an upstream separation vessel, a downstream vessel, and at least one intermediate vessel, each of the separation vessels having an overflow and an underflow. The process may further involve providing a water supply, feeding the slurry to the upstream separation vessel and feeding water to the downstream separation vessel, and forming a product stream from the overflow of the

7 upstream vessel. The process may further involve forming a first tailings stream from the underflow of the downstream vessel, feeding the underflow of the upstream vessel to the at least one intermediate vessel, and feeding the overflow of the downstream vessel to the at least one intermediate vessel. The process may further involve feeding the overflow of the at least one intermediate vessel to the upstream vessel, and feeding the underflow of the at least one intermediate vessel to the downstream vessel.
[0015F1 The overflow from the upstream vessel may be introduced into a froth concentration facility for separating the overflow into a bitumen-rich product stream and a bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream.
[0015G] The bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream may be introduced into a dewatering unit for separation into a water stream and a second tailings stream including dewatered fine tailings.
[0015H] The water stream may be recycled to the water supply.
[0015I] The second tailings stream may be combined with the first tailings stream.
[0015J] The combined first and second tailings streams may be treated in a tailings facility to recover water.
[0015K] The recovered water may be recycled to the water supply.
[0015L] The primary separation facility may be provided on a first mobile platform.
[0015M] Excavating the bitumen may involve excavating the bitumen using an excavating unit and the first mobile platform may be moveable independently of the excavating unit.
[0015N] The first mobile platform may be provided with skids or tracks to facilitate the movement.
[00150] The froth concentration facility may be provided on a second mobile platform.
[0015P] The second mobile platform may be moveable independently of the excavating unit.
[0015Q] The process may further involve separating the bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream into a water recycle stream and a dewatered fine tailings stream.

[0015R]
Separating the bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream may involve separating the bitumen-lean water and fine tailing stream downstream of the primary separation facility.
[0015S]
Separating the bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream may involve separating the bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream using a separating means chosen from the group consisting of a decanter, a hydrocyclone, and a thickener.

The transporting may involve transporting from the ore processing unit to the primary separation facility through a hydro-transport pipeline.
[0015U]
The plurality of cyclonic separation vessels may include three separation vessels in a countercurrent arrangement.
[0015V]
The process may further involve scalping to remove bitumen rich froth from the slurry prior to the slurry entering the primary separation facility [0015W]
The process may further involve continually advancing the independently mobile excavating unit in an arc about an ore depositing end of the conveyor to excavate further sections of the mine face. The process may also involve continually following the independently mobile excavating unit with the ore crushing unit to receive and crush further excavated ore from the further sections of the mine face, and continually following the ore crushing unit with the ore receiving end of the conveyor to receive the further excavated ore from the ore crushing unit while the ore depositing end remains in position for transporting the ore to the slurry facility.
[0015X1 The process may further involve moving the ore receiving end of the conveyor in an arc about an ore depositing end of the conveyor so that the ore receiving end follows the ore crushing unit and receives further excavated ore from the ore crushing unit as the ore crushing unit advances with the independently mobile excavating unit proximate the mine face.
[0015Y] The ore depositing end of the conveyor may be pivotally anchored.
[0015Z]
The conveyor may be configured to have a plurality of segments including at least one mobile segment.
[0015AA]
The conveyor may be configured to have a plurality of segments, and each of the plurality of segments may be operable to be independently moved or removed.

, [0015AB] The process may involve adding at least one conveyor segment to the conveyor to lengthen the conveyor as the mine face extends further into the ore deposit.
[0015AC] The process may involve removing at least one conveyor segment of the conveyor to shorten the conveyor.
[0015AD1 In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided a process for mining an ore deposit involving: excavating ore from a section of an ore deposit using an independently mobile excavating unit, crushing the ore using an independently mobile ore crushing unit, receiving the ore at an ore receiving end of a conveyor with at least the ore receiving end of the conveyor being mobile to follow and receive crushed ore from the ore crushing unit while the ore crushing unit advances with the independently mobile excavating unit along a mine face, transporting the crushed ore using the conveyor to a slurry facility, forming a slurry at the slurry facility by mixing the crushed ore with water, and transporting the slurry to a slurry processing facility using a pipeline.
[0015AE] The process may further involve adding at least one conveyor segment to the conveyor to lengthen the conveyor as the mine face extends further into the ore deposit, to facilitate excavating a further section of ore from the ore deposit.
[0015AF1 The slurry facility may be mobile and/or the slurry processing facility may be mobile.
[0015AG] The slurry processing facility may include a separation facility.
100161 In yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a process for bitumen recovery from an oil sand slurry, the slurry comprising bitumen and mineral components, the process comprising:
- introducing the slurry into a primary separation facility;
- diluting the slurry with water;

- separating the slurry into a bitumen-rich froth stream and a first, mineral-rich tailings stream with a counter current cyclonic separation apparatus;
- conveying the bitumen-rich froth stream to a froth concentration facility to separate the stream into a bitumen stream and a water and fine tailings stream;
- recovering the bitumen; and, - separating the water and fine tailings stream into a water recycle stream and a second tailings stream comprising essentially dewatered fine tailings.
[0017] In another aspect, the invention provides a means for separating fine tailings after the primary separation of bitumen.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of example only, briefly described as follows:
[0019] Figure 1 is a block flow diagram of a facility having mobile elements and arranged to provide recovered ore processing at intermediate points between the ore mine face and bitumen upgrade facilities.
[0020] Figure 2 is a schematic view of a mobile conveyor according to the invention, extending from a mine site.
[0021] Figure 2a is a schematic view of a preferred excavation apparatus.
[0022] Figure 3 is a side elevation of the mobile conveyor of Figures 2 and 2a.
[0023] Figure 3a is a perspective left side elevation of a conveyor of the invention in accordance with another embodiment.
[0024] Figure 3b is a perspective right side elevation of the conveyor of Figure 3a.
[0025] Figure 4 is a schematic view of a mine site in which a mobile conveyor of the invention extends from a mine site.
[0026] Figure 5 is a flow diagram illustrating the separation of solids from the oil sand slurry.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0027] Mobile Excavation and Processing System 100281 Reference is made to the attached Figure 1, which shows a block-flow diagram of an oil sands ore processing facility having mobile elements. The ore is first excavated with an excavating device or machine 20 examples of which are provided below.
Generally, the excavating device is mobile so as to continually advance the mine face. The excavated ore is then transferred 21 to a comminuting or crushing device 22 to reduce the mined ore to a size suitable for further downstream processes, as discussed further below. In one embodiment of the invention, the comminuting device 22 is mobile so that it is able to follow the excavating device. The comminuted, or crushed, ore is then supplied as a feed 30 to a slurry unit or facility 32. The transfer of crushed ore from the crushing device 22 to the slurry facility is accomplished by means of a conveyor belt extending there-between.
100291 The slurry facility further crushes the ore feed 30 and mixes it with water from a water supply 34 to form a pumpable slurry 36. In one example, the slurry facility 32 may comprise an "At Face Slurry Technology" (AFST) apparatus, such as that described in the present applicant's co-pending patent application 2,476,194 entitled "Sizing Roller Screen Ore Processing Apparatus". Such a slurry facility, as described in applicant's co-pending application preferably includes a sizing and crushing capability so as to ensure that a minimum particle size of the ore is pumped. As will be discussed further below, the sizing of the crushed ore may be adjusted depending upon the specific requirements of further downstream equipment. In addition to water, various other additives as known in the art may be supplied to the slurry facility 32 to assist in slurrifying the crushed ore. Typically, the hydro- transport slurry 36 would have a water content greater than 50% as measured by weight. In one embodiment, the slurry facility 32 is made mobile so that it also generally follows the excavator 20 as it advances along the mine face. Typically, the slurry facility 32 is moved periodically as the distance from the facility to the excavator increases. As known in the art, the excavator generally removes material from the mine face in an arc as shown in Figure 4. This allows the slurry facility to remain in one position while the excavator operates in the arc, such position generally being a point subtended by the arc. When the excavator is moved to a excavate in a different arc location, the slurry facility can also be moved to a new position.

[0030] The output hydro-transport slurry 36 from the slurry facility 32 is transported along a pipeline to a primary separation facility 38 for reducing the mineral content therein.
This step is commonly referred to as "de-sanding" or "de-mineralising". As explained above, the term "sand" is typically used to refer to the mineral component of the ore, which includes sand per se as well as other mineral constituents.
[0031] As discussed further herein, the slurry is "conditioned"
during the hydro-transport phase through the pipeline system extending between the slurry unit 32 and the primary separation facility 38, resulting in improved bitumen recovery. As used herein, the term "bitumen" will be understood to include various other hydrocarbon materials contained in the oil sands.
[0032] As mentioned above, the primary separation facility 38 removes the majority of the mineral component of the solids in the hydro-transported slurry feed 36. The recovered mineral material is diverted from the product flows as a primary separation tails stream 40 or first "tailings". The water content of the tailings 40 is typically low and such tailings are typically transported to a holding or settling area. Preferably, the water content of the tails stream 40 is sufficiently low to permit delivery of the tails stream to the excavation area where the oil sands ore was mined so that, for example, a back-fill reclamation process can be carried out, wherein the tailings are chemically and/or physically treated to enhance mineral separation from the water. For example, the tailings stream may be treated with rheology modifiers (such as taught in PCT publication WO/2004/969819 to Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Limited) to enhance the settling of the solid components or may be passed through certain equipment such as belt filters, stacking cyclones and the like. Various other treatment processes that can be used with the present invention will be known to persons 1 skilled in the art. Preferably, the water reclaimed from such processes can then be recycled 2 to the aforementioned upstream equipment. As will be appreciated by persons skilled in the 3 art, the treatment of tailings is often very difficult due to the length of settling time required 4 particularly by the "fines" component. The time required for such settling is quite often much greater than the process time for producing additional tailings. This results in a rapid 6 expansion of the tailings ponds. However, with technology such as that provided in the 7 above mentioned PCT application, the time required for settling of the mineral component is

8 dramatically reduced.

9 [0033] The primary separation facility 38 produces a bitumen froth output 42 that is delivered by pipeline to a froth concentration facility 44, which is discussed further below.
11 Generally, the froth concentration facility serves the purpose of forming a concentrated 12 bitumen froth 46, which can be fed to a froth treatment unit (not shown) and subsequently to 13 a bitumen upgrading facility (not shown). The froth concentration facility 44 also produces 14 a second tailings, or "fines" stream 47 that can, in one embodiment, be combined with the first tailings stream 40 discussed above. In one aspect of the invention, the primary 16 separation facility 38 is also adapted to be mobile as with the slurry facility 32. This enables 17 both the extraction facility 38 and the slurry facility 32 to move either with or following the 18 ore extraction equipment 20 as the mine face advances.
19 100341 It will be appreciated that although the various elements of the apparatus described above may be mobile, such movement may be independent in that each mobile 21 section may be moved at the same or different times. For example, as mentioned above, the 22 excavation equipment 20 may move in an arc about a mine face while the slurry facility 32 23 remains in one position until such time as excavation equipment is moved to a new location.
24 Similarly, the primary separation facility 38 may be moved either with these units or in accordance with a different time line. It will be appreciated that in the latter case, the hydro-26 transport pipeline between the slurry facility 32 and the primary separation facility 38 will 27 be lengthened as the distance between the two increases. As mentioned above, a certain 28 amount of hydro-transport is desirable in order to provide sufficient time to condition the 29 slurry and, thereby, enhance bitumen recovery. The residence time of the slurry within the hydro-transport line will depend upon various parameters including:
temperature (since the 31 physicochemical effects of the conditioning process are temperature dependent), the grade 21455070.5 8 1 of the ore, the diameter of the pipeline, the pumping capacity, and the travel distance (i.e.
2 length of pipeline). The specific dimensions of the pipeline will be apparent to persons 3 skilled in the art based on such parameters. It should be noted that the slurry conditioning 4 step serves to, inter alia, ablate the slurry (i.e. the reduce the size of the solid components contained therein) to suit the requirements of the primary separation unit 38.
6 [0035] The mobility of the various processing facilities provided by the present 7 invention obviates the need for an extensive conveyor or hauling (i.e.
trucks) system to 8 move the mineral laden ore from one location to another. Further, by separating the mineral 9 component from the ore at a location proximal to the mine face, considerable operational and maintenance cost savings can be realised. For example, it is known that an extensive 11 conveyor system involves considerable maintenance costs primarily due to the weight and 12 physical character of the ore being transported. Further, as mentioned above, it is also 13 known that the hydro-transport of mineral results in considerable wear on the pipeline and 14 pumping equipment.
[0036] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the above mentioned system 16 may be adapted so that each feed receiving unit receives feeds from multiple upstream units.
17 For example, the froth concentration facility 44 may be adapted to accommodate froth 18 supply 42 from multiple primary separation facilities 38. Similarly, the hydro-transport 19 slurry 36 received by each primary separation facility 38 may be supplied by multiple slurry facilities 32. Further, each slurry facility 32 may receive an ore feed 30 from one or more 21 crushing units 22. In this manner, oil sands ore from multiple mine face production 22 locations can be processed using the system of the invention. Moreover, high rates of 23 production from a larger mine face can be accommodated by multiple processing facilities.
24 [0037] Figure 2 shows a schematic view of an oil sands ore mine site where an oil sands ore body 50 is being excavated from a geological formation including an over-burden 52 26 that has been removed to expose the oil sands ore body. An excavator 54 removes the oil 27 sands ore body from formation and deposits it on a conveyor 56 that transports the recovered 28 oil sands ore from the excavator 54 to an ore processing facility 58.
The conveyor 56 may 29 comprise a single unit or a series of conveyors as shown in Figure 2. It will be understood that due to such modularity, the length of the conveyor can be adjusted by adding or 31 removing separate conveyor units. Generally, the excavating apparatus 54 is mobile in order 21455070.5 9 1 to remove ore material at the mine face. However, in accordance with a preferred 2 embodiment of the invention, the conveyor 56 is also rendered mobile. In one aspect, such 3 mobility of the conveyor 56 is achieved with a plurality of movement mechanisms 60 such 4 as wheels or, more preferably, tracks, as shown in Figure 2. In one aspect the conveyor 56 includes a receiving end 62 that is moved in accordance with the excavator 54 so as to 6 continually receive excavated ore. The conveyor 56 transports the excavated ore to the ore 7 processing facility 58.
8 [0038] Various types of excavators 54 may be used to remove the oil sands ore from the 9 geological formation. Figure 2 illustrates one example of such equipment comprising a bucket-wheel excavator. Various other suitable extraction equipment will be apparent to 11 persons skilled in the art and would include machinery such as shovels, drag-line excavators 12 etc. Figure 2 also illustrates an example of an excavator including a conveyor apparatus for 13 depositing the excavated ore onto the receiving end 62 of the conveyor 56. However, it will 14 be understood that this result may also be achieved in various ways such as with the use of front-end loaders, which can be used to lift excavated ore from the ground and to deposit 16 same on the receiving end 62 of the conveyor 56.
17 [0039] In one preferred embodiment as shown in Figure 2a, the excavating equipment 18 comprises a shovel excavator 200 which excavates ore and feeds same to a crushing unit 19 202. The crushing unit 202 includes a feed receiving hopper 204 and a transport mechanism 206 (such as an apron feeder or a conveyor), which transports the excavated ore to a 21 crushing mechanism 208. The crushing apparatus further includes an exit transport 22 mechanism 210 (such as a conveyor belt) to transfer the crushed ore to a conveyor 56 (as 23 described above) for transport to the slurry facility.
24 [0040] The ore processing facility 58 (which may preferably comprise the AFST as described above) includes a crusher sizing mechanism 64 that further screens and/or crushes 26 the recovered ore to a dimension suitable for slurry formation. In a preferred embodiment, 27 the recovered ore is rendered to a size suitable to form a feed stream to the primary 28 separation facility. It should be noted that the hydro-transport of the ore slurry also 29 provides some ablation of the ore and this may also be taken into account when determining the size restrictions of the sizing mechanism 64. In one aspect, the sizing mechanism may 31 be adapted to provide slurry material of a size that meets the requirements of downstream 21455070.5 10 1 apparatus, as will be known to persons skilled in the art. By way of example, the material 2 may be of approximately 2" as measured along two dimensions. In one aspect, a slurry box 3 66, as shown in Figure 2, is provided in the ore processing facility 58 to receive water and 4 the sized ore material and to combine these components to form a fluid slurry for hydro-transport through pipeline 68 to the primary separation facility (shown as 38 in Figure 1).
6 One or more pumps 70 are used to hydro-transport the slurry through the pipeline 68.
7 [0041] In a preferred embodiment, the system further includes a "diy surge" facility (not 8 shown) located upstream of the ore processing facility 58. The dry surge facility may 9 comprise, for example, a hopper, vessel or the like to retain excavated oil sand, either before or, preferably, after the initial crushing step, in order to ensure a generally constant ore 11 supply to the ore processing facility 58 and, therefore, the other downstream equipment.
12 [0042] As shown in Figure 3, a conveyor belt 72 extends along the length of the 13 conveyor system 56 and serves to transport excavated ore from the excavator 54 to the ore 14 processing facility 58. The conveyor system is provided with at least one drive mechanism to drive the belt. In other embodiments, a plurality of belts in series may also be used with 16 one belt depositing the excavated ore material onto the following belt in the series. In such 17 case, multiple belt drive devices may be used. As shown in Figure 3, each of the conveyor 18 assemblies forming the conveyor 56 includes a frame 74. Further, each conveyor frame 74 19 is interconnected with a successive conveyor frame by a hinged coupling 76, which permits the conveyor to adapt to the irregular terrain over which the conveyor extends. In this 21 manner, each successive conveyor frame 74 can articulate to accommodate variations in 22 grade and hills occurring in the terrain over which the conveyor extends. Movement 23 mechanisms 60 include a support frame 78 coupled to and supporting hinged coupling 76.
24 A preferred movement mechanism is a continuous track 80.
[0043] Each conveyor assembly includes a drive means 82 that serves to drive the tracks 26 80 and move the conveyor assemblies. In one embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the 27 delivery end 84 of the conveyor 56 is supported by a pivoting anchor 86 that rests on the 28 ground and fixes the delivery end of the conveyor. In another embodiment, the delivery end 29 86 of the conveyor can be provided with a movement mechanism such as that shown at 60.
[0044] Figures 3a and 3b illustrate other examples of the conveyor of the invention.
31 These figures more clearly illustrate the frame 74 and tracks 80 that support the conveyor.
21455070.5 11 1 Figures 3a and 3b do not show the conveyor belt but do illustrate the rollers 81 that are 2 provided on the frame 74 for supporting the conveyor belt as it carries material. Such rollers 3 are commonly known in the art.
4 [0045] Figure 4 shows a schematic view of a mine site 88 in which an excavator 54, such as a bucket wheel excavator, operates to remove an oil sands ore body 50 from the 6 mine face. A conveyor 56 extends between the excavator 54 and the ore processing facility 7 58. The conveyor 56 includes a plurality of movement mechanisms 60 extending along the 8 length thereof to move the conveyor 56 as desired. In the embodiment shown, the conveyor 9 56 is adapted to move in the directions of arrows A and B. In this case, the receiving end 62 of the conveyor moves with the excavator 54 while the delivery end 84 remains in position.
11 As the mine face extends into the ore body, additional sections may be added to the 12 conveyor 56 to extend its length. Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of the invention where, 13 as indicated above, the ore processing facility 58 received excavated ore from a multiple of 14 conveyors. As discussed above, the ore processing facility 58 crushes the ore into a desired size and combines it with water (and any other additives as known in the art) to form a 16 slurry that can be hydro-transported along pipeline 68.
17 100461 The above discussed mobile facilities offer various advantages over the prior art.
18 For example, although Canadian patent numbers 2,332,207 and 2,358,805 (which is a 19 divisional of the '207 patent) teach mobile facilities, these references require all equipment, including the excavating, slurrying, separation, and thickening units to be contained on a 21 single mobile platform. Thus, with these references, the entire facility must be moved along 22 the mine face. With the present invention, each portion of the facility, that is, the excavating 23 unit, the sluiTifying unit, the PSF etc. are all independently moveable and are connected by 24 pipelines or moveable conveyors. It will therefore be appreciated that such an arrangement minimises the movement of system elements that can remain in a position for a period of 26 time without having to follow the mine face. By way of example, as mentioned above, the 27 excavator would normally travel in an arcuate manner along the mine face. By connecting 28 the excavator to the slurrying unit by means of a moveable conveyor, it will be appreciated 29 that the slurrying unit can remain in a position subtending the arc along which the excavator is moved. In one embodiment, the crushing unit of the invention is made to move with the 31 excavator so that crushed ore material is loaded on the mobile conveyor.
In a similar 21455070.5 12 1 manner, the primary separation facility is also independently mobile so that it can be moved 2 as needed separately from the slurrying unit.
3 [0047] As will be appreciated, one of the key advantages of the aforementioned mobile 4 facilities is that the mineral component of the oil sand can be separated from the bitumen component at a location proximal to the extraction site. This, therefore, avoids the transport 6 of the mineral (i.e. sand, clay etc.) and the costs associated therewith.
Further, by combining 7 the above discussed mobile system (including the ore extraction and treatment units) with 8 tailings treatment methods such as that taught in PCT publication number WO/2004/969819, 9 it will be understood that the invention enables the movement of the complete process equipment and the creation of smaller, more efficient (i.e. faster settling) tailings ponds as 11 the system is moved. The water from such tailings ponds can, therefore, be recycled more 12 rapidly and supplied back to the process equipment where required.

14 [0048] Primary Separation Facility With 3-Stage Cyclone System [0049] The present invention also provides an efficient primary separation facility, also 16 referred to as a de-sanding or, more accurately, a de-mineralising facility. As indicated 17 above, mineral is a major component, by weight, of the excavated ore.
Thus, in order to 18 increase the efficiency of the transport system, removal of the mineral component should 19 preferentially be done close to the mine face. This would avoid unnecessary transport of mineral thereby avoiding the high operation and equipment maintenance costs associated 21 therewith. The prior art provides various methods and systems for the de-sanding (or de-22 mineralising) operations. However, these systems often involve large equipment. The 23 present invention provides, in one embodiment, an alternative primary separation facility 24 that avoids the drawbacks associated with known systems. Canadian patent number 2,332,207 teaches a primary separation system utilizing three cyclonic separators operating 26 in a countercurrent manner. The bitumen rich overflow from this system also contains fine 27 particles and solvent (i.e. water) and it is then treated in a product separator, such as a 28 decanter, to produce a bitumen product stream and a solvent recycle, which will also contain 29 the majority of fine particles. It is noted that no provision is made in this system to remove fine particles from the solvent recycle stream. As such, any fine particles present in the 31 cyclone overflow are then recycled back to the cyclonic separators and finally also recycled 21455070.5 13 1 back to the primary separator. It will be understood that this arrangement will, over time, 2 result in a net accumulation of solids (particularly fine solids) due to the continuous 3 recycling of same. In other words, the system taught in the '207 patent does not provide for 4 removal of fine solids.
[0050] Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of the invention including the above 6 mentioned primary separation facility (PSF). As shown, an ore slurry feed 100 is provided 7 to a PSF shown generally at 102. As discussed above, the ore slurry 100 is prepared at an 8 ore processing or slurry facility such as discussed above (e.g. the AFST). A water feed 104 9 is also provided to the PSF 102. The PSF 102 serves to efficiently separate a large portion of the mineral (as discussed further below) from the bitumen component. The bitumen is 11 removed as a froth while the mineral is separated as a tailings stream from the PSF.
12 [0051] The PSF 102 preferably includes three cyclonic separation vessels (106, 108, 13 110) that are connected in series and, more preferably, in a counter-current arrangement (as 14 discussed below). The cyclonic separation vessels of the present invention are generally vertical units, which have a minimal footprint, thereby occupying a minimal area. Suitable 16 cyclonic separation vessels for use in the present invention are those manufactured by Krebs 17 Engineers (wvvw.krebs.com) under the trademark gMAX . The slurry feed 100 (including 18 the bitumen and mineral components of the ore) is fed to first separation vessel 106 wherein 19 a first separation of the bitumen froth and mineral tailings is conducted. The first bitumen rich froth 112 from the first cyclonic vessel 106 is pumped to a froth collection stream 114.
21 The first tailings stream 116 from the first separation vessel 106 is pumped to a feed stream 22 118 of the second separation vessel 108 where a further cyclonic separation process is 23 conducted. The bitumen froth 120 from the second separation vessel 108 is added to the 24 feed stream 100 supplying the first separation vessel 106. The tailings 122 from the second separation vessel 106 are combined with the water feed 104 to form a feed 124 to the third 26 separation vessel 11. The bitumen froth 126 from the third vessel 110 is combined into the 27 feed 118 to the second separation vessel 108. The tailings from the third vessel 110 forms a 28 first tailings stream 128, which is preferably pumped to a tailings treatment facility. The 29 latter may, for example, comprise a tailings pond or other such facility. In forming the tailings stream 128, a considerable portion of the water content is removed thereby reducing 31 the demands of the downstream tailings pond.
21455070.5 14 1 [0052] As mentioned above, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the 2 primary separation facility comprises a three stage cyclonic separation system incorporating 3 a counter-current process. In such a facility, the hydro-transported ore slurry is mixed with a 4 counter current wash of water to form a bitumen rich froth that is then drawn off and further processed to extract the desired hydrocarbons entrained therein. In this type of process, it 6 will be understood that a three-stage process is ideal. In other words, as will be apparent to 7 skilled persons, the incremental improvement in bitumen separation between two separators 8 and three separators is great whereas the incremental separation improvement between three 9 and four separators is not significant. However, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art that the number of cyclone units used in the process will also depend upon the grade of 11 the ore supplied to the PSF. Thus, a high grade ore may require less units. Further, it will 12 also be appreciated that the size or capacity of each unit will also be determinative of the 13 number of units required for a particular process.
14 [0053] In addition, it will be understood that the PSF process is more efficient when operated in a counter current manner. The term "counter current" is meant to refer to the 16 manner in which the slurry and water streams are supplied at opposite ends of the three stage 17 process as discussed above. Thus, for example, water entering the process (either make-up 18 or recycled) is first contacted with a bitumen-lean feed and vice versa.
19 [0054] A further advantage of the three stage cyclonic system of the invention lies in the fact that size of each individual vessel may be reduced since the three stage counter-current 21 process results in a separation efficiency roughly equivalent to a much larger, single stage 22 system. For this reason, the three-stage facility of the present invention may be mounted on 23 a mobile platform and, in the result, such facility may be made moveable along with the ore 24 preparation facility (such as the AFST) as discussed above. Thus, as will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art, the present invention provides a system wherein the excavator, the 26 ore conveyor, the ore processing facility and the primary separation facility are all 27 independently moveable. In the result, the only stream requiring major transport comprises 28 the bitumen rich froth stream resulting from the PSF. The PSF removes the bulk of the 29 mineral and other tailings at or close to the excavation site thereby avoiding the need for transporting such material and the various costs associated therewith.
Movement of the PSF
31 may be accomplished by a mobile crawler (such as, for example, those manufactured by 21455070.5 15 1 Lampson International LLC) or by providing driven tracks (as described above with 2 reference to the conveyor 56) on the platform supporting the separation vessels. Various 3 other apparatus or devices will be apparent to persons skilled in the art for achieving the 4 required mobility.
[0055] In addition, it has been found that the separation efficiency of the three stage 6 counter-current cyclonic system of the present invention allows the system to be used with a 7 variety of ore grades.
8 [0056] Returning to Figure 5, it is shown that the bitumen rich froth stream 114 from the 9 PSF 102 is pumped to a froth concentration facility (FCF) 130. More specifically, the froth stream 114 is pumped to a froth concentration vessel 132 within the FCF 130.
Froth 11 concentration vessel 132 may comprise a flotation column, as shown in Figure 5, a 12 horizontal decanter, a conventional separation cell, an inclined plate separator (IPS) or other 13 similar device or system as will be known to persons skilled in the art.
In one preferred 14 embodiment, the FCF comprises at least one IPS unit. It will also be appreciated that the FCF 130 may comprise any number or combination of units. For example, in one 16 embodiment, the FCF may comprise a separation cell and a flotation column arranged in 17 series. In another embodiment, the FCF may comprise an IPS in association with a high rate 18 thickener. In addition to the bitumen rich froth feed 114, an air feed 134 may also be 19 pumped into the froth concentration vessel 132.
[0057] Within vessel 132, the froth is concentrated resulting in an enriched bitumen rich 21 froth, or product stream 136 that may optionally be transported to a conventional froth 22 treatment facility (not shown) to increase the bitumen concentration in the froth. The froth 23 concentration facility 130 produces a fine tailings stream 138 that comprises water and the 24 fine tailings that were not separated at the PSF stage. In one embodiment, any known chemical additives may also by used in the FCF 130 to enhance the separation of fines from 26 the water.
27 [0058] The term "concentration" with respect to the aforementioned froth is meant to 28 mean the increase in the bitumen concentration. For example, a lean bitumen froth resulting 29 from the PSF may contain bitumen at a concentration of 10% (w/w). The FCF then may increase the bitumen concentration to roughly 55% to 60% (w/w). In addition, in the case 31 where a froth treatment facility (as mentioned above) is used, the bitumen concentration 21455070.5 16 1 may be further increased to 95% (w/w). It should be noted that these concentrations are 2 recited to exemplify the concentration process and are not meant to limit in any way the 3 scope of the present invention. It will be appreciated, for example, that the specific 4 concentrations that can be achieved will depend on various factors such as the grade of the ore, the initial bitumen concentration, process conditions (i.e. temperature, flow rate etc.) 6 and others.
7 [0059] It should be noted that the potential for using a horizontal decanter as the froth 8 concentration vessel is possible due to the lean froth stream resulting from the PSF of the 9 present invention. That is, the above described PSF, wherein the cyclonic separation vessels are used, allow the majority of the solid material (i.e. mineral) in the ore slurry to be 11 removed. Such material is known to result in plugging of a device such as a horizontal 12 decanter. However, since such material is removed with the system of the present invention, 13 use of a horizontal decanter is made possible. In the result, the size requirements for the 14 froth concentration vessel(s) of the present invention are minimised, thereby allowing for the potential of such vessel also being made moveable in the manner described above. As will 16 be appreciated, such arrangement will further reduce the transport demands on the entire 17 process.
18 [0060] It should also be noted that the bitumen rich stream 114 obtained from the 19 demineralising primary separation facility (PSF) 102 is unique in that it contains a higher water concentration than normally results in other separation facilities.
Specifically, the 21 preferred process of the invention involves a higher dilution of the ore feed stream than 22 heretofore known. For example, a typical feed stream 100 includes a bitumen content of 23 approximately 7-10 wt%, a mineral content of approximately 55-60 wt% and a water 24 content of approximately 35 wt%. In the known separation facilities, the resulting bitumen-rich stream typically has a bitumen content of 60 wt%, a mineral content of approximately 26 10 wt%, and a water content of approximately 30 wt%. With the process of the present 27 invention, however, sufficient water is, in one embodiment, added so as to result in a 28 bitumen-rich stream 114 having a bitumen content of approximately 5-12 wt%, a mineral 29 content of approximately 10-15 wt% and with water comprising the remainder of the composition (i.e. approximately 80 wt%). It will be understood that the above 31 concentrations are provided solely for illustrating the invention and that various other 21455070.5 17 1 concentrations will or can be achieved depending on various process parameters. As can be 2 seen, the process of the invention results in a highly diluted bitumen-rich stream. However, 3 such a high water concentration has been found to result in a more efficient water/mineral 4 separation and a higher bitumen recovery. The increased water content described above, although resulting in improved mineral separation, also necessitates the froth concentration 6 facility so as to remove the added water.
7 100611 In a preferred embodiment, the fine tailings stream 138 produced by the FCF 130 8 is diverted to an optional water recovery unit 140, which separates the tailings stream 138 9 into a water stream 142 and a concentrated fine tailings stream 144. The fine tailings stream 144 is preferably combined with the tailings stream 128 produced by the PSF.
As shown in 11 Figure 5, the water stream 142, which would normally comprise hot water, may be recycled 12 into the water feed 104 that is supplied to the PSF 102. Water recovery unit 140 may 13 comprise any known equipment such as, for example, a thickener or, as illustrated in Figure 14 5, a hydrocyclone separator. Preferably, the water recovery unit 140 is specifically designed to separate small sized particles since much of the larger sized particles would have been 16 removed upstream. Thus, if the recovery unit comprises a hydrocyclone, the design of such 17 cyclone would generally be different from the upstream units described above. As discussed 18 above, removal of fine solids from the process stream is a novel feature of the present 19 invention. By removing fines, accumulation of same within the system is prevented along with the problems associated therewith.
21 [0062] In a further embodiment, the system of the invention, as shown in Figure 5, may 22 optionally be provided with a "scalping" unit shown at 146. The scalping unit 146 may 23 comprise, for example, a pump box or the like and serves to remove any froth formed in the 24 slurry feed 100 during the hydro-transport process. It will be appreciated that removal of such bitumen rich froth further increases the recovery efficiency of the three-stage counter-26 current separation system. The froth stream 148 generated by the scalping unit 146 is 27 combined into the froth stream 112 resulting from the PSF. The remaining slurry from the 28 scalping unit 146 then comprises the feed 150 to the PSF. As illustrated in Figure 5, if a 29 scalping unit 146 is used, the froth stream 120 from the second cyclonic separation vessel 108 is fed downstream of the scalping unit 146.
21455070.5 18 1 100631 In a further optional embodiment, the slurry feed 100 may be provided with any 2 number of known additives such as frothing agents and the like prior to being fed to the 3 PSF. An example of such additives is provided in US patent number 5,316,664.
4 [0064] As mentioned above, the tailings stream 128 shown in Figure 5 is pumped to a tailings treatment facility. Such facility can comprise any known method or process of 6 handling tailings. In a preferred embodiment, the tailings (which may comprise solely the 7 tailings stream 128 from the primary separation facility or a combined tailings stream 8 including the fine tailings stream 144 from the water recovery unit 140) are pumped to a 9 tailings pond where the solids are allowed to settle thereby allowing the water to be drawn off. In one embodiment, the water collected from the tailings pond may be recycled to the 11 system shown in Figure 5. In another embodiment, a rheology modifier or other such 12 additived may be added to the tailings stream in order to enhance settlement of the solids 13 material. As discussed above, an example of such additive is provided in PCT publication 14 WO/2004/969819 to Ciba Specialty Chemicals Water Treatments Limited. As also mentioned above, the tailings stream may be passed through various known equipment such 16 as belt filters, stacking cyclones and the like.
17 [0065] As indicated above, the present invention provides a system wherein a plurality 18 of hydrocyclone units are arranged in a counter-current manner whereby the oil sand slurry 19 is fed to the most upstream cyclone unit while makeup and/or recycle water (with generally no bitumen content) is fed to the most downstream cyclone unit. At least one intermediate 21 cyclone is provided between the upstream and downstream units and receives the underflow 22 of the upstream unit. The underflow of the intermediate unit is fed to the downstream unit 23 while the overflow of the intermediate unit is fed to the upstream unit.
In this way, the 24 overflow of the upstream unit comprises the bitumen-rich froth product stream that can optionally be fed to a froth concentration facility (as described above) while the underflow 26 of the downstream unit comprises a tailings stream.

28 [00661 Throughout the above discussion, various references have been made to 29 pumping, transporting, conveying etc. various materials such as slurries, crushed ore material, froth and others. It will be understood that the various equipment and 31 infrastructure such as pumps, conveyor belts, pipelines etc. required by these processes will 21455070.5 19 be known to persons skilled in the art and, therefore, the presence of such elements will be implied if not otherwise explicitly recited.
[0067] While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the accompanying claims.

Claims (69)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A system for extracting and processing oil sands ore excavated at a section of a mine face, the system comprising:
an independently mobile excavating unit for excavating the ore;
an independently mobile ore crushing unit for receiving and crushing said excavated ore, said ore crushing unit being adapted to follow said excavating unit;
an ore processing unit for receiving and further crushing said crushed ore and for forming a water based slurry therewith; and a conveyor extending between said ore crushing unit and said ore processing unit, said conveyor having an ore receiving end for receiving ore from said ore crushing unit and an ore depositing end for depositing said ore to said ore processing unit, with at least said ore receiving end of said conveyor being mobile to follow and receive crushed ore from said ore crushing unit while said ore crushing unit advances with the independently mobile excavating unit along the mine face.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a retaining unit to receive and retain a volume of crushed ore from said ore crushing unit and to supply said crushed ore to the receiving end of said conveyor.

3. The system of claim 1 or 2 wherein said conveyor comprises two or more conveyor units connected in series.

4. The system of any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said conveyor is mounted on a frame and wherein said frame is provided with a driven track.

5. The system of any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said ore processing unit is independently mobile.

6. The system of any one of claims claim 1 to 5 further including a primary separation facility for separating said slurry into a mineral component stream and a hydrocarbon containing froth stream, said primary separation facility being in fluid communication with said ore processing unit through a hydro-transport pipeline.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said primary separation facility comprises a plurality of cyclonic separation vessels.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said plurality of cyclonic separation vessels comprise three separation vessels in a countercurrent arrangement and wherein said slurry is fed to an upstream vessel and hydrocarbon free water is fed to a downstream vessel.

9. The system of any of claims 6 to 8 wherein said primary separation facility is provided on a first mobile platform.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein said first mobile platform is moveable independently of said excavating unit.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein said first mobile platform is provided with skids or tracks to facilitate said movement.

12. The system of any one of claims 6 to 11 further comprising a froth concentration facility for separating said hydrocarbon containing froth stream into a final hydrocarbon froth stream and a water and fine tailings stream.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein said froth concentration facility is provided on a second mobile platform.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said second mobile platform is moveable independently of said excavating unit.

15. The system according to any one of claims 12 to 14 further comprising a fine tailings separation means for separating said water and fine tailings stream into a water recycle stream and a dewatered fine tailings stream.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein said fine tailings separation means is provided downstream of the primary separation facility.

17 The system of claim 15 or 16 wherein said fine tailings separation means is chosen from the group consisting of a decanter, a hydrocyclone, and a thickener.

18. The system of any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein:
said independently mobile excavating unit is operable to continually advance in an arc about said ore depositing end of the conveyor to excavate further sections of said mine face;
said independently mobile ore crushing unit is operable to continually follow said excavating unit to receive and crush further excavated ore from said further sections of the mine face; and said ore receiving end of said conveyor is operable to continually follow said ore crushing unit to receive said further excavated ore from said ore crushing unit while said ore depositing end remains in position for depositing said further excavated ore to said ore processing unit.

19. The system of any one of claims 1 to 17 wherein said ore receiving end of the conveyor is operable to move in an arc about said ore depositing end of the conveyor in order to follow said ore crushing unit and receive further excavated ore from said ore crushing unit as said ore crushing unit advances with said independently mobile excavating unit proximate said mine face.

20. The system of any one of claims 1 to 19 wherein said ore depositing end of the conveyor is operable to be pivotally anchored.

21. The system of any one of claims 1 to 20 wherein the conveyor comprises a plurality of segments including at least one mobile segment.

22. The system of any one of claims 1 to 20 wherein the conveyor comprises a plurality of segments, and each of said plurality of segments is operable to be independently moved or removed.

23. A system for extracting and processing oil sands ore excavated at a mine face, the system comprising:
an excavating unit for excavating the ore;
an ore crushing unit for receiving and crushing the excavated ore, the ore crushing unit being adapted to move with the excavating unit;
an ore processing unit for receiving and further crushing the excavated ore and for forming a water based slurry therewith;
a conveyor extending between said excavating unit and said ore processing unit, said conveyor having an ore receiving end for receiving ore from said excavating unit and an ore depositing end for depositing said ore to said ore processing unit, with at least said ore receiving end of said conveyor being mobile to follow and receive crushed ore from said ore crushing unit while said ore crushing unit advances with the excavating unit along the mine face; and a primary separation facility for separating said slurry into a first tailings stream and a primary hydrocarbon froth stream, said primary separation facility being connected to said ore processing unit by a hydro-transport pipeline;
wherein said primary separation facility comprises a plurality of cyclonic separation vessels provided in a counter-current arrangement.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein said slurry is fed to the most upstream of said separation vessels and hydrocarbon-free water is fed to the most downstream of said separation vessels.

25. The system of claim 24 further comprising a froth concentration facility for separating said primary hydrocarbon froth stream into a final hydrocarbon stream and a water and fine tailings stream.

26. The system of claim 25 further comprising a water recovery unit for receiving said water and fine tailings stream and for forming a water recycle stream and a second tailings stream comprising said fine tailings.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein said first and second tailings streams are combined and transported to a tailings treatment facility.

28. The system of any one of claims 23 to 27 further comprising a scalping unit to remove bitumen rich froth from said slurry prior to said slurry entering said primary separation facility.

29. The system of any one of claims 23 to 28 wherein one or more of said excavating units, said ore crushing unit, said ore processing unit, said conveyor, and said primary separation facility are independently mobile.

30. The system of any one of claims 23 to 29 wherein:
said excavating unit is independently mobile and operable to continually advance in an arc about the ore depositing end of the conveyor to excavate further sections of said mine face;
said ore crushing unit is operable to continually follow said excavating unit to receive and crush further excavated ore from said further sections of the mine face; and said ore receiving end of said conveyor is operable to continually follow said ore crushing unit to receive said further excavated ore from said ore crushing unit while said ore depositing end remains in position for depositing said further excavated ore to said ore processing unit.

31. The system of any one of claims 23 to 29 wherein said ore receiving end of the conveyor is operable to move in an arc about said ore depositing end of the conveyor in order to follow said ore crushing unit and receive further excavated ore from said ore crushing unit as said ore crushing unit advances with said excavating unit proximate said mine face.

32. The system of any one of claims 23 to 31 wherein said ore depositing end of the conveyor is operable to be pivotally anchored.

33. The system of any one of claims 23 to 32 wherein the conveyor comprises a plurality of segments including at least one mobile segment.

34. The system of any one of claims 23 to 32 wherein the conveyor comprises a plurality of segments, and each of said plurality of segments is operable to be independently moved or removed.

35. A process for bitumen recovery from an oil sand ore deposit comprising:
excavating bitumen containing ore from a section of an oil sand deposit using an independently mobile excavating unit;
crushing said ore using an independently mobile ore crushing unit;
receiving said ore at an ore receiving end of a conveyor, with at least said ore receiving end of said conveyor being mobile to follow and receive crushed ore from said ore crushing unit while said ore crushing unit advances with the independently mobile excavating unit along a mine face;
transporting said ore using said conveyor to a slurry facility; and forming a slurry by mixing said crushed ore with water.

36. The process of claim 35 further comprising receiving and retaining a volume of crushed ore from said ore crushing unit and supplying said crushed ore to the receiving end of said conveyor.

37. The process of any one of claims 35 to 36 wherein said conveyor comprises two or more conveyor units connected in series.

38. The process of any one of claims 35 to 37 wherein said conveyor is mounted on a frame and wherein said frame is provided with a driven track.

39. The process of any one of claims 35 to 38 wherein forming said slurry by mixing said crushed ore with water comprises forming said slurry by mixing said crushed ore with water using an independently mobile ore processing unit.

40. The process of any one of claims 35 to 39 further comprising:

transporting said slurry to a primary separation facility, said facility including a plurality of cyclonic separation vessels arranged in a counter current configuration, said plurality of separation vessels comprising an upstream separation vessel, a downstream vessel, and at least one intermediate vessel, each of said separation vessels having an overflow and an underflow;
providing a water supply;
feeding said slurry to said upstream separation vessel and feeding water to said downstream separation vessel;
forming a product stream from the overflow of said upstream vessel;
forming a first tailings stream from the underflow of said downstream vessel;
feeding the underflow of said upstream vessel to said at least one intermediate vessel;
feeding the overflow of said downstream vessel to said at least one intermediate vessel;
feeding the overflow of said at least one intermediate vessel to said upstream vessel; and feeding the underflow of said at least one intermediate vessel to said downstream vessel.

41. The process of claim 40 wherein the overflow from said upstream vessel is introduced into a froth concentration facility for separating said overflow into a bitumen-rich product stream and a bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream.

42. The process of claim 41 wherein said bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream is introduced into a dewatering unit for separation into a water stream and a second tailings stream comprising dewatered fine tailings.

43. The process of claim 42 wherein said water stream is recycled to said water supply.

44. The process of claim 43 wherein said second tailings stream is combined with said first tailings stream.

45 The process of claim 44 wherein said combined first and second tailings streams are treated in a tailings facility to recover water.

46. The process of claim 45 wherein said recovered water is recycled to said water supply.

47. The process of claim 41 wherein said primary separation facility is provided on a first mobile platform.

48. The process of claim 47 wherein excavating said bitumen comprises excavating said bitumen using an excavating unit and wherein said first mobile platform is moveable independently of said excavating unit.

49. The process of claim 48 wherein said first mobile platform is provided with skids or tracks to facilitate said movement.

50. The process of any one of claims 48 and 49 wherein said froth concentration facility is provided on a second mobile platform.

51. The process of claim 50 wherein said second mobile platform is moveable independently of said excavating unit.

52. The process according to any one of claims 41 and 47 to 51 further comprising separating said bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream into a water recycle stream and a dewatered fine tailings stream.

53. The process of claim 52 wherein separating said bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream comprises separating said bitumen-lean water and fine tailing stream downstream of the primary separation facility.

54 The process of any one of claims 52 and 53 wherein separating said bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream comprises separating said bitumen-lean water and fine tailings stream using a separating means chosen from the group consisting of a decanter, a hydrocyclone, and a thickener.

55. The process of any one of claims 40 to 54 wherein said transporting comprises transporting from said ore processing unit to said primary separation facility through a hydro-transport pipeline.

56. The process of any one of claims 40 to 55 wherein said plurality of cyclonic separation vessels comprise three separation vessels in a countercurrent arrangement.

57. The process of any one of claims 40 to 56 further comprising scalping to remove bitumen rich froth from said slurry prior to said slurry entering said primary separation facility

58. The process of any one of claims 35 to 57 further comprising:
continually advancing said independently mobile excavating unit in an arc about an ore depositing end of the conveyor to excavate further sections of said mine face;
continually following said independently mobile excavating unit with said ore crushing unit to receive and crush further excavated ore from said further sections of the mine face; and continually following said ore crushing unit with said ore receiving end of the conveyor to receive said further excavated ore from said ore crushing unit while said ore depositing end remains in position for transporting said ore to said slurry facility.

59. The process of any one of claims 35 to 57 further comprising moving said ore receiving end of the conveyor in an arc about an ore depositing end of the conveyor so that said ore receiving end follows said ore crushing unit and receives further excavated ore from said ore crushing unit as said ore crushing unit advances with said independently mobile excavating unit proximate said mine face.

60. The process of claim 59 wherein said ore depositing end of the conveyor is pivotally anchored.

61. The process of any one of claims 35 to 60 wherein the conveyor is configured to have a plurality of segments including at least one mobile segment.

62. The process of any one of claims 35 to 60 wherein the conveyor is configured to have a plurality of segments, and each of said plurality of segments is operable to be independently moved or removed.

63. The process of any one of claims 35 to 60 further comprising adding at least one conveyor segment to the conveyor to lengthen the conveyor as the mine face extends further into the ore deposit.

64. The process of any one of claims 35 to 60 further comprising removing at least one conveyor segment of the conveyor to shorten the conveyor.

65. A process for mining an ore deposit comprising:
excavating ore from a section of an ore deposit using an independently mobile excavating unit;

crushing said ore using an independently mobile ore crushing unit;
receiving said ore at an ore receiving end of a conveyor, with at least said ore receiving end of said conveyor being mobile to follow and receive crushed ore from said ore crushing unit while said ore crushing unit advances with the independently mobile excavating unit along a mine face;
transporting said crushed ore using said conveyor to a slurry facility;
forming a slurry at the slurry facility by mixing said crushed ore with water;
and transporting said slurry to a slurry processing facility using a pipeline.

66. The process of claim 65 further comprising adding at least one conveyor segment to the conveyor to lengthen the conveyor as the mine face extends further into the ore deposit, to facilitate excavating a further section of ore from the ore deposit.

67. The process of any one of claims 65 to 66 wherein the slurry facility is mobile.

68. The process of any one of claims 65 to 67 wherein the slurry processing facility is mobile.

69. The process of any one of claims 65 to 68 wherein the slurry processing facility comprises a separation facility.