Beneficiation of Bitumen Deposit at Selenice (Albania)

Abstract

Abstract. The development of tar sand deposits can be carried out through either conventional or non-conventional methods. Conventional involve removing the sand which contains the bitumen. Non-conventional are accomplished by processing the sand while still in place using in situ methods.Surface mining involves stripping the overburden to gain access to the oil sands formation which is then removed using earth moving equipment. This is the case of the upper layers of the bitumen deposit at Selenice (Albania) where the richer seams at depth have been mined underground.The run-of-mine must be processed by suitable beneficiation methods based on the liberation of bitumen from the sand aggregates and the subsequent separation of the two components.To this end a technology has been devised, based on the use of high velocity water jets in a suitable combination with mechanical crushing, followed by either flotation or gravity separation for the concentration of the bitumen.The results so far achieved with a cooperative research undertaken jointly by AQUAVIS and the University of Cagliari at the Waterjet Laboratory of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture (DICAAR) confirm the feasibility of the concept.