What is in a Name?

Even in 1936, the debate was on! What was the proper name for the sands? At the 18^th Annual Western Meeting of the Canadian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy in Edmonton, J. A. Smith and J. M. McClave launched their presentation entitled “The Commercial Utilization of the Oil Sands of Northern Alberta” with a declaration in favour of “oil sands.”

Until 1951, the Research Council of Alberta (RCA) favoured “bituminous sands,” and Karl Clark regularly published articles using that term more or less interchangeably with “tar sands” and “oil sands.” However, after the international Athabasca Oil Sands Conference in 1951, the RCA took a stand in its annual report for that year, declaring that “oil sands” was the correct term.

Clearly, the RCA’s pronouncement did not settle the matter. Two years later David Pasternack, a chemist who worked with Karl Clark for years at the Research Council of Alberta, still felt the need to clarify. His article “Alberta Oil Sands,” published in The Petroleum Engineer magazine, starts with an explanation of his title.

And so it continued over the years. Today, “tar sands” is widely used, especially in the United States. “Bituminous sands” is not as common, but still appears. Oil sands is favoured by the industry and government in Canada. It seems unlikely that the debate will end any time soon.