International Bitumen Company Ltd. mine and plant
A 1947 flow diagram
Fractionating tower (centre)
  • Karl Clark at work on his prototype separation plant, 1929, Source: Glenbow Archives, ND-3-4596a

    Karl Clark begins his long career investigating Alberta’s oil sands.

    Karl Clark at work on his prototype separation plant, 1929
    Source: Glenbow Archives, ND-3-4596a

  • Robert Fitzsimmons at Bitumount, ca. 1920s, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3358

    Robert Cosmas Fitzsimmons visits the Athabasca River and purchases an oil lease.

    Robert Fitzsimmons at Bitumount, ca. 1920s
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3358

  • Oil sands separation plant at Dunvegan Yards, Edmonton, 1925, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3526

    Karl Clark and Sidney Blair build prototype hot water separation plants.

    Oil sands separation plant at Dunvegan Yards, Edmonton, 1925
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3526

  • Prospectus for the International Bitumen Company, n.d., Source:	Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0356.544a,b.ProspectusOf.IBC.1

    International Bitumen Company Ltd. is incorporated.

    Prospectus for the International Bitumen Company Ltd., n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0356.544a,b.ProspectusOf.IBC.1

  • Oil sands separation plant on the Clearwater River, 1930, Source:	Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3536

    Karl Clark’s hot water separation plant moves to the Clearwater River, near Fort McMurray.

    Oil sands separation plant on the Clearwater River, 1930
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3536

  • Diagram of the process patented by Clark in 1929, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 289058

    Karl Clark is issued Patent 289058 for “Bituminuous [sic] Sand Processing”.

    Diagram of the process patented by Clark in 1929
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 289058

  • Fitzsimmons' separation plant, Bitumount, ca. 1930, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3383

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds his first separation plant at Bitumount.

    Fitzsimmons’s separation plant, Bitumount, ca. 1930
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3383

  • New plant at Bitumount, n.d., Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3378

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds a new plant designed to produce 200 barrels of oil per day, but it runs for only a short while.

    New plant at Bitumount, n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A3378

  • Diagram of Fitzsimmons' patented separation process, 1932, Source:	Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 326747

    Robert Fitzsimmons is issued Patent 326747 for a “Process and Apparatus for Recovering Bitumen.”

    Diagram of Fitzsimmons’s patented separation process, 1932
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 326747

  • The International Bitumen Company plant, Bitumount, ca. 1937, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PAA A3375

    Robert Fitzsimmons builds a refinery at Bitumount.

    The International Bitumen Company Ltd. plant, Bitumount, ca. 1937
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PAA A3375

  • Fitzsimmons (left) shows Champion the oil sands at Bitumount, n.d., Source: University of Alberta Archives, 83-160-113

    Montreal financier Lloyd R. Champion buys controlling interest in International Bitumen Company Ltd. and changes name to Oil Sands Ltd.

    Fitzsimmons (left) shows Champion the oil sands at Bitumount, n.d.
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 83-160-113

  • Ernest Manning in 1943, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A483

    Ernest Manning, Premier of Alberta, announces a loan of $250,000 to Oil Sands Ltd. to build a prototype oil sands separation plant at Bitumount.

    Ernest Manning in 1943
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, A483

  • Alberta Government Oil Sands Project, Bitumount, 1952, Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-127

    Agreement with Oil Sands Ltd. is cancelled. The Bitumount project becomes known as the Alberta Government Oil Sands Project.

    Alberta Government Oil Sands Project, Bitumount, 1952
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-127

  • Diagram of process patented by Clark in 1948, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 448231

    Karl Clark is issued Patent 448231 for “Extracting Oil from Bituminous Sand.”

    Diagram of process patented by Clark in 1948
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 448231

  • Karl Clark at the completed Bitumount plant, n.d., Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA410.3

    Alberta Government Oil Sands Project plant at Bitumount is completed.

    Karl Clark at the completed Bitumount plant, n.d.
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PA410.3

  • Cover of Blair's Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands, 1950, Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0345.box24.503

    Blair Report indicates that developing the oils sands could be profitable.

    Cover of Sidney Blair’s Report on the Alberta Bituminous Sands, 1950
    Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, PR1971.0345.box24.503

  • Poster on the University of Alberta Campus, 1951, Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-122

    Over one hundred delegates attend the Athabasca Oil Sands Conference at the University of Alberta.

    Poster on the University of Alberta Campus, 1951
    Source: University of Alberta Archives, 91-137-122

  • Bitumount, ca. 1949-1950, Source: Glenbow Archives, pa-1599-451-2

    Government of Alberta puts the Bitumount plant and 5,784 acres up for sale, but does not receive any adequate bids. The plant remains non-operational.

    Bitumount, ca. 1949-1950
    Source: Glenbow Archives, pa-1599-451-2

  • Diagram of Fitzsimmons’ patented 1953 separation process, Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 493081

    Robert Fitzsimmons is issued Patent 493081 for a “Process for Recovering Bitumen from Tar Sands.”

    Diagram of Fitzsimmons’s patented 1953 separation process
    Source: Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Patent 493081

  • The Bitumount site became overgrown in the years following its abandonment. Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_1720

    Bitumount plant is sold, but no significant development occurs and it is finally abandoned in 1958.

    The Bitumount site became overgrown in the years following its abandonment.
    Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_1720

  • Sign at the Bitumount site, 1980s, Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_5896

    Bitumount is designated a Provincial Historic Resource.

    Sign at the Bitumount site, 1980s
    Source: Historic Resources Management, DSC_5896

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Separating

The second step in transforming the oil sands into commercial petroleum products is separating the bitumen from the sand. In this step, raw oil sand enters the plant and is broken apart into bitumen, which is saved, and sand tailings, which are discarded.

There is more than one way to separate oil sand into its component parts. However, the only method ever used at Bitumount is the hot water separation process. Basically, it consists of the following steps:

  1. transforming the sand into a slurry, or pulp, by breaking up any lumps, removing impurities such as rocks and twigs, and adding hot water to dilute the sand
  2. agitating the slurry to separate the oil and the sand, and adding it to a hot water bath where an oil froth can rise to the surface and sand can sink to the bottom
  3. skimming the oil froth off the water, and reprocessing the separated sand to capture any additional oil
  4. removing excess water from the separated oil by heating it and adding a diluent

A number of technical problems complicate the process.

  1. The oil sands are not a simple mixture of oil and sand. Rather, the grains of sand are coated with a layer of water that has minute particles of silt, clay and minerals in it, which is in turn covered by a film of oil. The spaces between the coated sand grains may be filled with more water, or with air or natural gas. When oil and sand are separated, the minute particles in the water layer can settle out, but they can also remain suspended in the water or become bonded with the oil. Thus, even once the sand and oil are separated, there is the secondary problem of removing the particles from the oil and the water.
  2. The bitumen in the oil sands is actually heavier than water, and does not float to the top on its own when mixed with water.
  1. The composition of the oil sands varies from place to place, and even within individual deposits. The amount of oil in the sand is not constant. Some deposits are more acidic, some have more impurities and some are more viscous than others. All these factors require that variations be made in the separation process.
  2. The oil sands have chemical and physical properties that can be very hard on components of the separation plant. The plant needs to be very durable and adjustable in order to avoid having to halt the processing while parts are cleaned, repaired or replaced.

Two hot water separation plants were constructed at Bitumount. Robert Fitzsimmons was responsible for the first plant. Initially, it was based on publicly-available information about hot water separation. Over time it evolved, with Fitzsimmons, who had no background in scientific research or the oil business, making alterations based on practical considerations and as his budget allowed.

In its final stages, Fitzsimmons engaged the services of petroleum engineers, with mixed results. The second plant, on the other hand, was built all at once, with the benefit of input from professional researchers and engineers, and with a budget that increased to cover costs. Interestingly, this plant also saw its share of on-the-spot adjustments and alterations.

In this Section

Separating to 1944

Fitzsimmons extracted two barrels of oil from the oil sands in 1925. No record of how he accomplished this remains.

Separating in 1948

In December 1944, Alberta’s Premier Ernest Manning announced a joint project with Oil Sands Ltd. to build a test plant at Bitumount.

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