An Alberta-based company is close to starting a pilot project at an oilsands site which would help reduce carbon footprints.

Wood Buffalo council met on Tuesday where they heard a presentation from Titanium Corporation which is working to deploy their ‘Creating Value from Waste’ technology at Canadian Natural Resources Limited’s Horizon site, north of Fort McMurray.

The project would recover around 2.5 million barrels of bitumen, solvent, and minerals annually which would normally go into tailings ponds. It would also reduce methane and carbon emissions by up to 500,000 tonnes per year.

“It’s a rare opportunity to do something positive from an environmental point of view and do it economically,” said Scott Nelson, President & CEO of Titanium Corporation.

So far, the company has gotten around $50 million for the project, mostly from the federal government. They’re currently looking to receive around $20 million from the provincial government.

Council approved advocating to the GoA, specifically Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon, for the funding.

Speaking on Fort McMurray Matters, Mayor Don Scott noted this is the best they can do as the RMWB can’t justify providing financial support at this time.

“We’re not in the position to do that and it’s really a provincial measure and they have grants for those kinds of things.”

If up and running, the project is expected to put $650 million back into the provincial economy.

Around 3,000 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs are also expected to be created.