Thats the OP's point I guess by pointing out alberta. They refine oil through the sand there.

To produce one barrel of synthetic oil from surface-mined oil sands, approximately 2 tonnes (about 2,000 kg or 1.8 tons) of tar sands/earth must be mined and moved. This process also consumes 2–5 barrels of water and emits roughly 35–134 kg of per barrel

I did think though. It's funny because someone figured out a while ago that the human body contains very trace amounts of rare earth metals.

The human body contains trace amounts of various rare and precious metals, including approximately (0.2mg) of gold, along with traces of silver, uranium, and others. While metals make up roughly (2.5%) of body mass, most is common, such as calcium and iron. These trace metals are found in blood and tissues, often in minute, non-functional amounts. 

Good thing if you ask me.