The Usibelli mine at Healy, the state's only producing coal mine, will produce about 1.3 million tons of subbituminous coal this year, down a little from previous years because of the lull in shipments to Korea.

But demand for coal from six Interior Alaska power plants is up to about 900,000 tons this year, from roughly 800,000 tons the plants have typically used in previous years. That's mainly because of the increased population the plants serve, Denton said. Usibelli ships coal to power plants at Clear Air Force Station, Eielson Air Force Base, the University of Alaska, Fort Wainwright and Aurora Energy in Fairbanks, which is owned by a Usibelli affiliate company.

Coal is shipped by the Alaska Railroad to the power plants as well as to a coal export terminal in Seward. Additionally, Usibelli delivers coal to the Healy No. 1 plant, operated by Golden Valley Electric Association, located adjacent to Usibelli's property.

Usibelli could see big increases in demand for its coal if two new developments occur. One is a restart of the mothballed Healy Clean Coal Project, a 50-megawatt new technology coal-fired power plant built in Healy in 1997. The plant operated during a year-long test, but operations were suspended in late 1999 due to a commercial dispute.

Homer Electric Association is now working with the plant owner, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, on a plan to restart the plant, which would purchase coal from Usibelli.

Another potential large customer for Usibelli is Agrium Corp., which is studying a possible $2 billion coal gasification and power plant project near Agrium's fertilizer plant near Kenai. If the project goes ahead, Usibelli could supply up to 3 million tons a year to Agrium, which would require the mine to approximately triple its output.

Usibelli mines innovations too

Several coal mines have operated in Alaska in the past, but Usibelli is the only mine producing today.

In its 64 years of operations, mine production has grown and is supported today by modern mining equipment and state-of-the-art engineering. The mine currently has a work force of 92.

Usibelli is a third-generation, family-owned company with a tight-knit group of longtime employees, most of who live in nearby Healy. The company is a big sponsor of the University of Alaska and many of Usibelli's employees are University of Alaska Fairbanks graduates.

Emil Usibelli began producing coal in 1943 near Healy with a used bulldozer, a used logging truck and a one-year contract to supply 10,000 tons of coal to the U.S. Army's Ladd Airfield in Fairbanks.

The mine, and the company, grew in the postwar period and after statehood. In 1971, Usibelli purchased the neighboring Vitro Mine in Healy and became the only producing coal mine in Alaska.

Emil was killed in a mining accident in 1964 and his 25-year-old son, Joe, took over the company. In 1987, Joe Usibelli retired after 23 years as CEO. Joe Usibelli Jr. became the company's president. Under Joe Jr., the company began to examine technologies that would enhance the quality of its coal and serve to develop new markets.

Usibelli president Joe Usibelli looks over the mine's lands. PHOTO/Adam Elliot/ For the Journal

In the late 1980s Usibelli began working on ways of using lower-grade coal that is not sold, but is instead considered waste. The idea of the Healy Clean Coal Project, which was designed to use low-grade waste coal, came from that effort. The plant, which uses new coal-burning technologies, has not been operating because of a commercial dispute, but that may soon change.

Coal shipments to Chile are the most recent innovation. Usibelli is also working with Agrium Corp. on a plan to gasify coal as a feedstock for Agrium's fertilizer plant near Kenai.

How coal is mined in Healy

Mining continues at Usibelli's mine year-round, even during extreme winter weather. Demand for coal from Interior Alaska's power plants are greater during winter.

In fact, mining coal from the surface is relatively simple in concept, but getting to it can be challenging. At the Usibelli mine more than 100 feet of unconsolidated sandstone or dirt must be moved to uncover the first of three main seams of coal that are mined. Another 120 feet must be moved to uncover a second seam, and another 80 feet to reach the third seam.

Alaska coal rides down the conveyor belt at Usibelli Coal Mine in August. The coal is used as an energy source at several Interior Alaska plants. Some is put into coal trains and railed to Seward for export to international customers. Photo/Adam Elliott/For the Journal

The most efficient machines for moving large volumes of dirt are draglines. In 1977, Usibelli made a major investment by purchasing a 1300W Bucyrus-Erie Walking Dragline. The dragline arrived in parts on 26 railcars and 40 trucks during December 1977. It took 11 months to assemble the 2,100-ton machine. The acquisition of the dragline, named “Ace-in-the-Hole,” made it possible to double production and initiate Usibelli's Korean export contract in 1985.

With its 325-foot boom, the dragline has a reach of 270 feet. The bucket weighs 32 tons and will hold 33 cubic yards of material. In one 24-hour period, the dragline can move 35,000 yards of dirt, leaving a 145-foot wide strip of uncovered coal. Due to the weight of the machine, moving it on tires or tracks is not possible. The dragline moves by “walking.” Shoes on either side of the machine lift its base partially off the ground and drag it backward. Each step takes about 40 seconds and moves the dragline approximately seven feet.

Dragline can affect power grid

Usibelli Coal Mine mechanic David Anderson works on a coal truck at the mine's machine shop. Photo/ Adam Elliot/ For the Journal

The flywheel stores energy to be used whenever the dragline's electrical demand increases too quickly for the grid. This enables the dragline to operate without causing power fluctuations for others on the local grid.

The dragline has several buckets, which are used on a rotating basis. Each bucket is used on the dragline for about 1,800 hours of operation and then the bucket is serviced by welding wear-plates in specific locations that experience abrasion.

While the dragline does the majority of the excavation work at the mine, other excavators are needed. One track-mounted O&K RH120C backhoe and one O&K RH170 hydraulic shovel help to strip overburden in areas too difficult for the dragline to maneuver and to load trucks with rock and gravel for construction and reclamation projects. The backhoe has a 16-cubic-yard bucket and is powered by twin 567-horsepower diesel engines. The O&K RH-170 shovel has a 26-cubic-yard bucket and can load 150-ton trucks in four passes.

More equipment is added

A fleet of large yellow trucks is used to haul coal and rock, and the fleet has steadily expanded over the years. In 1995, a Caterpillar 785 haul truck was added, which has a capacity of 150 tons, more than 50 percent greater than the nine 95-ton Dresser HaulPaks used previously. Six 150-ton trucks were in use. A custom modified bed allows coal and dirt to be hauled. A new Caterpillar 100-ton truck was just added.

Other pieces of equipment are needed to support daily activities. Usibelli operates several bulldozers, including a Caterpillar D11R-CD and a Komatsu 475A-5, among the largest tracked bulldozers in the world.

When blasting is used, a specially designed powder truck transports, mixes and loads explosives into each drill hole. In some areas of the pit, a technique called “cast blasting” is used to help strip overburden. In cast blasting, the drill holes and explosive charges are designed so that a portion of the overburden is cast laterally by the force of the explosion into the adjacent mined-out pit. This technique, when it can be used, reduces the amount of overburden that the dragline handles by about 25 percent.