CALGARY - The Mildred Lake and Aurora oil sands mines belonging to Syncrude have won the Immersive Technologies’ 2011 Business Improvement Award for outstanding results with its simulator-based operator training program.

Suncor Energy Inc. has announced significant inroads with its Tailings Reduction Operations solution, while Syncrude Canada Ltd. has been testing centrifuge technology as one potential saviour. Smaller companies, such as Solid Environmental...