Andrea Sedgwick is the R&D Mining Lead at Total E&P Canada, Calgary, Alberta.
Andrea Sedgwick describes what the COSIA Tailings Research Group is doing since their start in the summer of 2012. The group is focused on research fundamentals not developmental work. The individual companies of COSIA identified their research gaps around tailings and then the group pooled and prioritized them into a "Living Document". High priority gaps are: under the Environmental theme, Chemical, under the Geotechnical theme, Lab Prediction Techniques, Consolidation, Dewatering, Effect of Flocculants and Drying and under the Process theme, Understanding Bitumen Effects on Tailings, Ore composition/Clays, Flocculation, Rheology and Enhanced Fines Capture.
Andrea Sedgwick describes some of the details of the knowledge gaps (eg. consolidation and densification, drying, the reactions of polymers (flocculants)). Rheology science of treated tailings is a large gap. Beach fines capture is another significant gap.
The Tailings Research Group reports monthly to the COSIA Tailings EPA. Andrea Sedgwick outlines the group's timeline from 2013 to 2014, with emphasis on the timelines for research proposals.
Andrea Sedgwick's presentation was part of the Tailings and Mine Wastes Conference, Banff Alberta in November 3-6, 2013
