Located 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) north of Fort McMurray, AB, Imperial’s Kearl mine is one of Canada’s largest oil sands deposits with a production rate of 270,000 barrels per day (2023). The mining area contains approximately 4.6 billion barrels of bitumen resources which are expected to be recovered over a 40-year span.  

With more than 2,500 workers at site on any given day, Kearl’s strong safety culture is rooted in teamwork and is demonstrated daily through the care and concern workers have for one another. This is the third John T. Ryan award Kearl has received in the past five years (2018, 2020, 2023), which speaks to the drive and dedication of the entire Kearl workforce towards industry-leading safety performance and eliminating life-altering injuries and fatalities. 

Nutrien's Rocanville mine was commissioned in 1970 and has gone through several expansions and improvements to become one of the largest potash mines in the world.  The expansive underground workings, surface mills, loading facilities, maintenance shops and other supporting personnel, create an employment opportunity for 900 people from the surrounding area.   

Ore is cut using four-rotor mining machines utilizing a three-pass room-and-pillar method.  Conveyors haul ore to skip-loading pockets where it is hoisted to surface through two dedicated shafts.  The ore is processed on surface into finished products and shipped by rail and truck.   

Workplace safety at the Rocanville mine is ever evolving and always striving to improve.  The consistent foundation of safety success is through employee engagement and ownership.  This is most evident in our employee driven process called STAR (Safety Together at Rocanville), where workers observe one another and provide the feedback necessary for continued safe work.