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Case Study

3D GPS Guided Excavation, Southern Alberta

Sub-surface 3D GPS model guiding excavation to 40° slopes. 96,000 tonnes of impacted soil, with a wellhead and artesian spring protected throughout.

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01

3D GPS Guided Excavation, Southern Alberta

2024

Capability Applied

Energy, Oil & Gas→

01

Site background and materials

96,000 tonnes of impacted soil removed from slopes of up to 40 degrees, guided by a sub-surface 3D GPS model, while protecting a wellhead and an artesian spring.

Site
Steep-slope well site, Southern Alberta
Client
Major oil and gas producer (confidential)
Contaminants
Hydrocarbons, salts, metals and other substances

02

Nelson's role and project scope

General contractor: management, crew, equipment and trucking

Scope
GPS-guided excavation; Off-site haulage; Backfill and grading

03

Equipment, handling and logistics

GPS-equipped excavators followed the client's sub-surface 3D delineation model.

The model-guided excavation reduced sampling frequency and duration.

Off-highway trucks moved excavated soil to purpose-built containment and transload facilities.

Grizzly bear and wildfire procedures were in place for crew safety.

Neighbouring-property backfill was sourced through community consultation.

The project provided local employment for Indigenous stakeholders.

Volume
Approx. 96,000 tonnes excavated, hauled and disposed

04

Site controls and project requirements

The excavation plan protected the wellhead, artesian spring and drainage. Grizzly bear and wildfire procedures were in place, and neighbouring-property backfill was sourced through community consultation.

Conditions
Slopes up to 40°; wellhead and artesian spring protected

05

Documented outcomes

The wellhead and spring drainage were protected and final grading was completed.

Result
Wellhead and spring drainage protected; final grading complete
Completed
2024
Safety
Zero lost-time injuries

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Remediation Strategy Navigator

Start from a site like this one

For remediation and treatment decisions, answer five questions about your site and the Strategy Navigator will show which treatment paths your conditions point toward.

· A shortlist of treatment paths ranked against your answers

· The reasoning behind every technology that surfaces

· A shareable link that reopens the same strategy

· A downloadable strategy brief at the end

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Outputs are indicative. Reach out for site-specific refinements.

Contact

How can Earthworks help?

Project inquiries, technical consultation, or emergencies.

We respond to project inquiries within one business day.

Nelson Environmental Remediation

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Acheson (Edmonton), Alberta

Canada T7X 6L8

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