Albian Sands Jackpine Mine Development
Albian Sands’ Jackpine Mine is located approximately 70 kilometers north of Fort McMurray and is designed to produce 200 000 barrels per day (bpd) of bitumen product. The Jackpine Mine is planned to have full production in 2010. The Jackpine Mine is part of The Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) a joint venture between a joint venture among Shell Canada Limited, Chevron Canada and Marathon Oil Canada Corporation.
North American Construction Group (NACG) through Noramac, a joint venture with Fort McKay Construction, was responsible for the complete design-build of a grassroots 2300 by 45 meter hard surface runway, complete with associated taxiways and aprons, a 150 person terminal building and four bay equipment storage facility. Runway design included two instrument landing approaches and required Nav Canada approval. The project was completed in record time, taking just under 12 months from the design stage through to the first aircraft landing. The Albian Aerodrome Project was named runner-up in Alberta Construction Magazine’s 2007 Top Projects issue. It is also one of the safest airstrips in Canada, being only one of three licensed to 250 foot minimum approaches
NACG was also contracted to provide Crusher Slot excavation, which was completed by utilizing a heavy equipment fleet to excavate and haul overburden and ore to the designated stockpile locations. The approximately 9 million bank cubic meters (BCM) of overburden was hauled 1.5 kilometers while the approximately 6 million BCM of ore was hauled 2.5 kilometers. Stockpile Management was of significant importance due to the large volumes being moved. Ditches and sumps were established to ensure water was not an issue during the deep excavation.
