Patent ID: 9458386
Filing Date: 2016-10-04
CPC Classification: C10G

Claim Text:
1. A process of extracting bitumen from oil sand ores having a fines content up to about 60% and a bitumen content greater than about 6%, comprising: determining the fines content of the oil sand ore prior to mixing the oil sand ore with heated water; determining the bitumen content of the oil sand ore prior to mixing the oil sand ore with heated water; mixing the oil sand ore with heated water to produce an oil sand slurry; and adding caustic before, during or after mixing the oil sand ore with heated water in an amount responsive to the content of fines and bitumen in the oil sand ore to condition the oil sand slurry and to improve bitumen recovery from the oil sand ore, wherein the amount of caustic to be added is determined using equation (1): where (y) is the caustic dosage (wt % of oil sand ore) and x is the ratio of the fines content (%) over bitumen content (%).