Abstract: A system and method for managing fluid mature fine tailings (MFT) containment volume in a tailings pond to a minimum, fixed steady-state volume by balancing the accumulation of the MFT in the pond with consumption of the MFT from the pond by one or both of spiking the MFT into coarse sand tailings forming a coarse sand beach with trapped fines which is segregating for forming a trafficable deposit or centrifuging MFT from the tailings pond and depositing the resulting centrifuge cake on the coarse sand beach. During the life of the oil sand operation, when the volume of MFT approaches the fixed volume of the tailings pond, MFT is consumed from the pond using both sand-spiking and centrifugation as required. Production of MFT in the pond is also reduced by diverting an underflow from a secondary flotation cell in an extraction plant from the tailings pond to a thickener where the fines-rich thickened tailings from the thickener are beached for subsequent dewatering and reclamation.

Abstract: Processes and apparatus for the treatment of product streams from mineral processing operations, including the treatment of tailings which result from oil sand processing operations. The processes and apparatus relate to the recovery of a diluent solvent from bitumen froth tailings and to the thickening of tailings from a bitumen froth stream and a middlings stream resulting from an oil sand extraction process. In one aspect the processes and apparatus relate particularly to the recycling of product streams to maximize process efficiencies. In a second aspect the processes and apparatus relate particularly to the thickening of tailings to produce an underflow component, a clarified overflow component and an unclarified overflow component.