Conventional approaches to calculating the power requirements of belt conveyor drives are unreliable when materials with unique properties are conveyed, or if applied to conveyors operating under extreme climatic conditions. The purpose of this study is to quantify the power requirements of conveyors, and related resistance to motion, for the conveyors used in oil sand mines during winter operations. Another objective is to quantify the drive power requirements of oil sand conveyors during startup. These requirements are usually much higher than those during normal operation, and their quantification is of paramount importance for operation of large conveyors.