Cleveland-Sized Mine Signals the Path for an Oil-Sands Revival

  • Suncor marks formal opening of Fort Hills project in Alberta
  • Analysts say low costs, emissions could be model for new mines
Shale Revolution: The Wildcatters Who Changed the World
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A colossal Canadian oil-sands project may be showing the way forward for an industry many thought would never see new investments.

In a forest clearing roughly the size of Cleveland, building-sized trucks dump tons of oily soil into a massive crushing facility, while conveyors move the dirt on the other end to a plant where hot water and solvents will turn it into heavy crude for U.S. refineries.