Publications

PUBLICATIONS

Please email Gord McKenna to request a copy of any of the papers listed here.

Abbott RM & McKenna GT. 2012. Sustainable mining now. turning ideas and ideals into reality. Mine Closure 2012. Brisbane. Australian Centre for Geomechanics. p771-781.

McKenna G, An R, Scordo E, & McGreevy J. 2013. Toward effective closure planning: From progressive reclamation to sustainable mining. Tailings and Mine Waste ’13. Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Tailings and Mine Waste, November 3-6, Banff. University of Alberta Geotechnical Center, Edmonton. p615-625.

Ansah-Sam M, Hachey L, McKenna G, & Mooder B. 2016. The DBM approach for setting engineering design criteria for an oil sands mine closure plan. Fifth International Oil Sands Tailings Conference, December 4-7. Lake Louise, Alberta. University of Alberta Geotechnical Group, Edmonton. 11p.

Aubertin M & McKenna G. 2016. Tailings Disposal Challenges and Prospects for Oil Sands Mining Operations. Geo-Chicago 2016: Geotechnics for Sustainable Energy. Aug 14-18. Chicago. p359-371.

Barbour S & McKenna G. 2010. Engineering for Wetland Reclamation, Reclamation and Restoration of Boreal Peatland and Forest Ecosystems: Toward a Sustainable Future. Edmonton. March 25-27. Paper 3-6.

BGC Engineering Inc. 2010. Oil Sands Tailings Technology Review. OSRIN Report No. TR-1. BGC Engineering Inc. Vancouver. 136 pp. (co-author).

BGC Engineering Inc. 2010. Review of Reclamation Options for Oil Sands Tailings Substrates. OSRIN Report No. TR-2. BGC Engineering Inc. Vancouver. 59p. (co-author).

Cassie J & McKenna G. 2016. Mine closure planning, design and implementation: from hand-waving to reality. Planning for Closure 2016: First International Congress on Planning for Closure of Mining Operations. Santiago, Chile. November 20-22. Gecamin. Santiago. 9 pp.

Chow R, McKenna G, Win SMK, & Journault J. 2013. Recovery of Bitumen from Oil Sands Tailings Streams and Deposits: Potential Opportunities and Benefits. Consultant’s report for Alberta Innovates, Energy and Environment Solutions (AI-EES) and the Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA). Report dated Dec 18, 2013.

Consortium of Tailings Management Consultants (CTMC). 2012. Oil Sands Tailings Technology Deployment Roadmap: Project Report – Volume 2, Component 1 Results. Consultants report to Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions. June 22, 2012. 112 pp. (Co-author).

Council of Canadian Academies (CCA). 2015. Technological Prospects for Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Canadian Oil Sands: The Expert Panel on the Potential for New and Emerging Technologies to Reduce the Environmental Impacts of Oil Sands Development. Council of Canadian Academies. Ottawa. 254p. (panel member and author).

Crossley C, Russell B, van Zyl D, & McKenna G. 2011. Developing an operation, maintenance and surveillance manual for the post-closure management of tailings facilities. Mine Closure 2011 Conference. September 18-21. Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. Australian Centre for Geomechanics. Perth. 10p.

Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA). 2005. Landscape Design Checklist, Revised RSDS Government Regulator Version. May 2005. CEMA-RWG Landscape Design Subgroup. 8p. (editor and co-author).

Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA). 2012. Oil Sands End Pit Lakes Guidance Document. CEMA. Fort McMurray. 494 pp. (chapter author, technical advisor).

Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA). 2014. Guidelines for Wetland Establishment on Reclaimed Oil Sands Leases (3rd Edition). CEMA. Fort McMurray. 436p. (chapter author, technical advisor).

Daly C, Atkinson J, Birkham T, Chapman D, Ciborowski J, McKenna G, O’Kane M, Price J, Rochefort L, & Russell B. 2010. Novel wetland reclamation design: The Suncor pilot fen and Wapisiw wetland. 37th Annual Aquatic Toxicity Workshop October 3-6. Toronto. Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Eaton BR, Fisher JT, McKenna GT, & Pollard J. 2014. An Ecological Framework for Wildlife Habitat Design for Oil Sands Mine Reclamation. OSRIN Report No. TR-67. Oil Sands Research and Information Network, University of Alberta. Edmonton. 83p.

Fair JM, Pollard J, & McKenna GT. 2014. Reclaimed closure landscapes: the importance and benefits of operations maintenance and monitoring. 38th BCTRCR Annual British Columbia Mine Reclamation Symposium. Sep 22-25. Prince George, BC.

Holden A, McKenna G, Fan X, & Biggar K. 2014. The potential impact of different types of tailings on water quality and quantity reporting to oil sands end pit lakes: a preliminary modeling exercise. International Oil Sands Tailings Conference (IOSTC 2014). December 7-10. Lake Louise, Canada. University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre. Edmonton.

Jakubick AT & McKenna GT. 2001. Stabilization of soft tailings. practice and experience. Eighth International Conference on Radioactive Waste Management and Environmental Management (ICEM’01). Brugge Belgium. American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Jakubick AT, McKenna GT, & Robertson AM. 2003. Stabilisation of tailings deposits: international experience. Sudbury 2003. Mining and the Environment. Sudbury.

Keys MJ, Ducharme J, & McKenna G. 2000. Incorporating landscape design into closure planning at the Syncrude Mine Site. Global Land Reclamation/Remediation 2000 and Beyond. Proceedings of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association 25th Annual Meeting, Edmonton, Alberta

Keys MJ, McKenna G, Sawatsky L, & Van Meer T. 1995. Natural analogs for sustainable reclamation landscape design at Syncrude. Environmental Management for Mining. Saskatoon.

Kostaschuk RA, Luternauer JL, McKenna GT, & Moslow TF. 1992. “Sediment transport in a submarine channel system, Fraser River Delta Canada.” Journal of Sedimentary Petrology. 62:273-282.

Kostaschuk RA, Luternauer JL, McKenna GT, & Moslow TF. 1990. Morphology and sediment transport in a submarine channel system; Fraser River DeltaBritish Columbia Geological Association of Canada – Mineralogical Association of Canada annual meeting. Program with abstracts Waterloo. 15:71.

Kupper AG, Hurndall B, Morgenstern N, Sobkowicz J, Abeda W, Baldwin G, Cameron R, Eenkooren N, Grapel C, Martens S, McKenna G, Mihiretu Y, Mimura W, Parson K, Paz S, Petersen T, Small A, Tan S, Wog K, & Yazdanpanah S. 2013. De-licensing oil sands tailings dams – when is a dam no longer a dam? Tailings and Mine Waste ’13. Seventeenth International Conference on Tailings and Mine Waste November 3-6, Banff. University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre. Edmonton.

List BR & McKenna GT. 1990. Shallow translational failures along thin Marine Clay layers at the Syncrude Canada Ltd open pit mine. 43rd Canadian Geotechnical Conference. Quebec City. Canadian Geotechnical Society.

Liu Y & McKenna G. 1999. Applications of wickdrains in Syncrude composite tailings. 52nd Canadian Geotechnical Conference, Regina. Canadian Geotechnical Society.

McGreevy J, McKenna G, An R, & Scordo E. 2013. Regional mine closure plans – The next improvement in closure planning. Tailings and Mine Waste 2013 Conference. Banff. Nov 3-6. University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre, Edmonton.

McKee WN & McKenna GT. 1997. Closure planning. actions today to control cost and liability tomorrow. CIM District 5 Mining Conference. Fort McMurray. Canadian Institute of Mining. Paper 22.

McKenna G. 2004. Geoenvironmental characterization of a large sulphur block at Syncrude: results from 2003 field investigation. Syncrude Canada Ltd. for University of Calgary, Department of Chemistry, Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd.

McKenna G & Cullen V. 2008. Landscape design for soft tailings deposit. Tailings and Mine Waste 08 Conference. Vail, Colorado.

McKenna G & Dawson R. 1997. Landscape engineering for sustainable development. Geotechnical Society of Edmonton Third Annual Symposium. April 4. Edmonton. 12p.

McKenna G & Lewko R. 1995. 44 blockslides in the Athabasca Oil Sands. 48thCanadian Geotechnical Society Conference. Sep 25-27. Vancouver. p909-916.

McKenna G, Biggar K, Win SMK, Journault J, Eaton T, Sego D, & Morgenstern N. 2010. Oil sands tailings sand hydraulic conductivity. 2nd International Oil Sands Tailings Conference. December 5-8. University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre. Edmonton p21-29,

McKenna G, Dawson R, Hyndman A, LeSueur P & Sobkowicz J. 2012. The Oil Sands Tailings Roadmap and Action Plan — Oil Sands Tailings State of Practice Overview. International Oil Sands Tailings Symposium, Edmonton. University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre, Edmonton.

McKenna G, Keys M, Van Meer T. Roy L. & Sawatsky. 2000. The impact of beaver dams on the design and construction of reclaimed mines sites. Proceedings of the 24th Annual British Columbia Mine and Reclamation Symposium, Williams Lake, BC. 2000.

McKenna G, Livingstone G, & Lord T. 1994. “Advances in slope-monitoring instrumentation at Syncrude Canada Ltd.” Geotechnical News 12:66-69.

McKenna G, Mann V, Fisseha B, Beier N, & Olmedo N. 2016. The geotechnical vane strength of soft tailings compared to soft foods. Fifth International Oil Sands Tailings Conference, December 4-7. Lake Louise, Alberta. University of Alberta Geotechnical Group, Edmonton. 11p.

McKenna G, Mann V, Fisseha B, Beier N, & Olmedo N. in press. “This tailings has the consistency of chocolate pudding: a formal comparison of the geotechnical vane shear strength of food and soft tailings.” Geotechnical News.

McKenna G, Mooder B, Burton B, & Jamieson A. 2016. Shear strength and density of oil sands fine tailings for reclamation to a boreal forest landscape. IOSTC International Oil Sands Tailings Conference. Lake Louise. Dec 4 to 7. University of Alberta Geotechnical Group. Edmonton.

McKenna G, O’Kane M, & Qualizza C. 2011. Tools for bringing mine reclamation research to commercial implementation. Tailings and Mine Waste 2011 Conference. Vancouver. Nov 6-9. 11p

McKenna G, Scordo E, Shuttleworth D, Straker J, Purdy B, & Buchko J. 2011. Aesthetics for mine closure. Mine Closure 2011 Conference. Lake Louise, Canada. Australian Centre for Geomechanics. Perth. 1:603-612.

McKenna G, Straker J, & O’Kane M. 2016. Custodial transfer of reclaimed mines: barriers and opportunities. TRCR 40th Annual BC Mine Reclamation Symposium. Penticton, BC, Canada. Sept 2016. 12p.

McKenna G. 1987. Evidence of large-scale mass wasting on the Fraser River delta front at Sands Heads British Columbia. BSc These. Department of Applied Sciences. Geological Engineering Program. University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 1v.

McKenna G. 1991. Grouted-in installation of piezometers in boreholes. 44th Canadian Geotechnical Society Conference. Calgary. Canadian Geotechnical Society. Paper 55. 12p.

McKenna G. 1995. “Advances in slope-monitoring instrumentation at Syncrude Canada Ltd — a follow up.” Geotechnical News v13.42-44.

McKenna G. 1995. “Grouted-in installation of piezometers in boreholes.” Canadian Geotechnical Journal. 32:355-363.

McKenna G. 1996. “Concepts in lease-closure landscapes.” CIM Bulletin 89:89-95.

McKenna G. 1996. “Planning geotechnical tests and investigations for analysis and presentation — Part 1.” Geotechnical News 14:37-45.

McKenna G. 1997. “Injecting science into geotechnical research field programs.” Geotechnical News 15:49-56.

McKenna G. 1998. “Celebrating 25 Years. Syncrude’s Geotechnical Review Board.” Geotechnical News 16:34-41.

McKenna G. 1998. Overview of the CT process (Syncrude Canada Ltd.). Terrestrial reclamation of challenging materials in the Oil Sands Industry.Proceedings of the TERRE workshop, Jan 29-30. University of Alberta, Edmonton.

McKenna G. 1999. 1999 Soft Tailings Workshop. Soft Rock and Coal Mechanics Workshop. Canadian Institute of Mining. Edmonton.

McKenna G. 1999. “An era passes at Syncrude — farewell to Dragline No. 2 “Discovery”. Geotechnical News. p37.

McKenna G. 1999. Elements of successful reclamation. CIM Workshop, Calgary.1v.

McKenna G. 2006. “Rules of thumb for geotechnical instrumentation costs.” Geotechnical News.

McKenna G. 2008. Landscape design for oil sands tailings. International Oil Sands Tailings Conference, Edmonton. December 7-10.

McKenna G. 2009. Exploring Closing options: taking a life-cycle approach to planning to achieve optimal reclamation. Best Practices in Tailings Management and Reclamation. Sep 17-18, Calgary. Canadian Institute.

McKenna G. 2012. Sustainable mining and landform design. David C Sego Symposium. April 26-27. University of Alberta. Edmonton.

McKenna GT & Kostaschuk RA. 1990. Submarine slope failures at the mouth of the Fraser River British Columbia. Geological Association of Canada – Mineralogical Association of Canada. Waterloo. Geological Association of Canada.

McKenna GT & List BR. 1990. Impact of Upper McMurray Formation Marine Oil Sands on dragline mining at the Syncrude Canada Ltd open pit mine. Second International Symposium on Mine Planning. Calgary. Balkema. Rotterdam. p363-371.

McKenna GT & Luternauer JL. 1987. “First documented large failure at the Fraser River delta front British Columbia.” Current Research. Geological Survey of Canada 87-1a:919-924.

McKenna GT & Shelbourn MB. 1995. Instrumentation of an advancing mine slope in the Athabasca Oil Sands. International Symposium on Mine Planning. Calgary.

McKenna GT, Ducharme J, & Keys MJ. 2000. Landscape design. a new planning and assessment framework for mine reclamation. 24th Annual BC Mine Reclamation Symposium. Williams Lake. BC Ministry of Mines.

McKenna GT, Keys MJ, van Meer T, Roy L, & Sawatsky L. 2000. The impact of beaver dams on the design and construction of reclaimed mine sites. 24th Annual BC Mine Reclamation Symposium. Williams Lake. BC Ministry of Mines.

McKenna GT, Luternauer JJ, & Kostaschuk RA. 1992. “Large-scale mass-wasting events on the Fraser River delta front near Sand Heads British Columbia.” Canadian Geotechnical Journal 29:151-156.

McKenna GT, Luternauer JL, & Kostaschuk RA. 1990, Submarine landslides at the mouth of the Fraser River Canada. Fifth Circum-Pacific Energy and Mineral Resources Conference; Volume 74. AAPG Bulletin. American Association of Petroleum Geologists. Tulsa. 74:989.

McKenna GT. 1997. “Planning geotechnical tests and investigations for analysis and presentation– part 2.” Geotechnical News 15:40-44.

McKenna GT. 2002. Landscape engineering and sustainable mine reclamation. PhD Thesis. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. University of Alberta. Edmonton. 660p.

McKenna GT. 2005. “Erroneous readings from a vibrating wire piezometer with a broken signal wire.” Geotechnical News 23:35-36.

McKenna GT. 2005. Posting security for reclamation obligations. Offsetting Environmental Clean-Up Costs and Liabilities Controlling Your Organization’s Contaminated Sites Remediation and Reclamation Obligations symposium. Vancouver. Canadian Institute.

McKenna GT. 2006. “How to build your own instrumentation quad.” Geotechnical News.

McKenna GT. 2007. “Celebrating 50 issues of Geotechnical Instrumentation News.” Geotechnical News.

McKenna GT. 2009. Techniques for creating mining landforms with natural appearance. Tailings and Mine Waste 2009 Conference. Banff. University of Alberta Geotechnical Centre, Edmonton.

MEND. 2012. Cold Regions Cover System Design Technical Guidance Document. MEND Report 1.61.5c. Consultant’s report prepared by O’Kane Consultants for Mine Environment Neutral Drainage Program. July 2012. 177p. (Technical panel member, contributor).

Oil Sands Tailings Dam Committee. 2014. De-licensing of oil sands tailings dams. Technical guidance document. March 2014. Oil Sands Research and Information Network (OSRIN). University of Alberta, Edmonton. 46p. (Committee member, co-author).

Pollard J, McKenna GT, Fair J, Daly C, Wytrykush C, & Clark J. 2012. Design aspects of two fen wetlands constructed for reclamation research in the Athabasca oil sands. Mine Closure 2012 Symposium. Brisbane. Australian Centre for Geomechanics. p815-829.

Pollock GW, McRoberts EC, Livingstone G, McKenna GT, Matthews JG, & Nelson JD. 2000. Consolidation behaviour and modelling of oil sands composite tailings in the Syncrude CT Prototype. International Conference on Tailings and Mine Waste 7:121-130.

Powter CB, Biggar KW, Silva MJ, McKenna GT, & Scordo EB. 2010. Review of oil sands tailings technology options. Tailings and Mine Waste ’10. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Tailings and Mine Waste October 17-20, 2010. Vail, Colorado. CRC Press. London UK. p381-391.

Rains RB & McKenna GT. 1995. Fluvial geomorphology of natural rivers and creeks and its impact on lease-closure designs at Syncrude Canada Ltd. 7th Annual Canadian Dam Safety Conference. Banff. Canadian Dam Safety Association (Canadian Dam Association). p279-293.

Russell B, McKenna G, Leblanc M, Wells PS, & Anderson HB. 2010. Design and construction of the reclamation surface for the first oil sands tailings pond. Mine Closure 2010, Vina del Mar, Chile. Australia Centre for Geomechanics, Perth. 13p.

Singhal RK & McKenna GT. 1998. Environmental management in tailings and solid waste disposal at oil sands mines. Environment and Innovation in Mining and Mineral Technology Symposium. University of Concepcion, Chile.

Strategic Advisory Panel on Selenium Management. 2010. The Way Forward: Strategic Plan for the Management of Selenium at Teck Coal Operations. Swanson Environmental Strategies Ltd. Calgary. 233p. (panel member, co-author).

Strategic Advisory Panel on Selenium Management. 2012. Alternative Futures: collective action to manage selenium in the Elk and McLeod Watersheds. Swanson Environmental Strategies Ltd. Calgary. 80p. (panel member, co-author).

Swanson S, Abbott R, Funk W, Kirk L, McKenna G, Ohlendorf H, & Sandy T. 2011. Building stakeholder engagement in sustainable solutions- the strategic Advisory Panel on Selenium Management. Mine Closure 2011 Symposium. Lake Louise, Canada. Australian Centre for Geomechanics. 2:189-196.

Wytrykush C, Vitt DH, McKenna G, & Vassov R. 2012. “Designing landscapes to support peatland development on soft tailings deposits: Syncrude Canada Ltd.’s Sandhill Fen Research Watershed initiative.” Restoration and reclamation of boreal ecosystems: Attaining sustainable development. Cambridge University Press New York New York. p161-178.

Please email Gord McKenna to request a copy of any of the papers listed here.