The feasibility of extracting metal values from the oil sands fly ash has been studied in some detail; however, little work has been completed on the mineral phases in the fly ash and their phase changes during ash formation from oil sands coke. Characterization of the minerals in the ash is essential to obtain sufficient information about the mineral assemblage and its processability.

Coke obtained from Syncrude and Suncor was investigated to characterize the metals and minerals by ashing it at various temperatures. Samples were obtained by the high temperature ashing (HTA) method at 100°C intervals from 400°C to 1200°C. Samples were also obtained from the low temperature ashing (LTA) method which gives little effect on the mineral assemblage compared to HTA samples. Their mineralogy and morphology were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). To obtain better understanding of the transformation of mineral phases, a series of quantitative analyses was also conducted using the Rietveld refinement method. The results from the experiments were compared with unprocessed fly ash obtained directly from Suncor and Syncrude for the purpose of characterizing and developing a process for extracting metal values from the fly ash along with full utilization of the residual ash.