The nearest town, Fort McMurray, Alberta, was a small fur trading post, other markets were far away, and transportation costs were too high to ship the raw bituminous sand for paving.
ðə nˌɪɹɪst tˈaʊn, fˈɔːɹt mək mˈɜːɹeɪ, ælbˈɜːɾə, wʌzɐ smˈɔːl fˈɜː tɹˈeɪdɪŋ pˈoʊst, ˈʌðɚ mˈɑːɹkɪts wɜː fˈɑːɹ ɐwˈeɪ, ænd tɹænspoːɹtˈeɪʃən kˈɔsts wɜː tˈuː hˈaɪ tə ʃˈɪp ðə ɹˈɔː baɪtˈuːmɪnəs sˈænd fɔːɹ pˈeɪvɪŋ.