The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 104
Over the past month, the world has been awash in year-end 2013 mining news, ranging from exploration and production statistics to economic impact numbers and mining favorability polls. The Alaska highlights from this wad of info include the results from the annual Fraser Institute political jurisdiction favorability survey where Alaska placed first in the world out of 112 jurisdictions for mineral potential. However, Alaska plummeted to 21st place on the survey's Policy Percep...
Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. Jan. 15 commended its 115 employees for reaching the important milestone of no lost-time injuries during 2015. "The employees of UCM have dedicated themselves to safety awareness and communication. Every employee practices it every day, resulting in achieving a year and a half without any lost-time accidents. It's a true team effort and a milestone we're all proud of," UCM President Joe Usibelli Jr. said. This milestone sits in the midst of a run of mor...
Given an abundance of cheap coal available on the Pacific Rim, Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. is focusing on its core business - delivering more than 1 million tons of ultra-low-sulfur coal mined at its Healy operation to electricity- and heat-generating customers in Interior Alaska. "Right now, we are sort of regrouping, focusing on our domestic customers," Usibelli Vice President of Government Affairs Lorali Simon told business and government leaders gathered for an Oct. 16...
Aurora Energy Services LLC, the company operating the Seward Coal Loading Facility on behalf of the Alaska Railroad Corp., Sept. 22 said the facility will be idle for the remainder of 2015. The facility loads coal shipped by rail from Usibelli Coal Mine Inc.'s Healy operations onto ships bound for delivery to customers along the Pacific Rim. A drop in coal prices, coupled with a strong U.S. dollar, has weakened the demand for coal from Alaska. Usibelli mined roughly 1.5...
The state of the world's exploration industry was recently summarized in SNL Metal & Mining's annual "World Exploration Trends" publication, released at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention in Toronto. Not surprisingly, it painted a grim picture of 2014, a year we are all glad to have behind us. The statistics indicate that worldwide exploration expenditures declined a further 26 percent to $11.4 billion, compared with $15.2 billion in 2013 and...
Galvanized by higher zinc prices and strong production at Teck Resources Ltd.'s Red Dog Mine, the value of Alaska's mineral production topped US$3 billion for the fifth year running. Larry Freeman, chief of Minerals Resources at the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, told an audience at the AME BC Mineral Exploration Roundup that production of zinc, lead and silver - all metals produced at Red Dog - climbed in Alaska during 2014. Gold production, on the...
FAIRBANKS - The Arctic International Mining Symposium in Fairbanks afforded Interior Alaska mines the opportunity to provide an update on the latest developments at local operations. While the mines touted individual achievements in 2013 - record gold at Fort Knox, new discoveries at Pogo and a new deposit at Usibelli - a commitment to and appreciation of people was a common thread spun through messages from all three operations. "Without the people you might as well shut the...
Coal is an abundant and readily available solution to the high cost of energy, the bane of operating mines, minerals development projects and residents in Interior Alaska, according to the Alaska Minerals Commission. "We always hear about (natural) gas and we always hear about oil, but one of the things that has been taking the back seat is coal," Alaska Minerals Commission Chairman Bill Jeffries informed Alaska legislators during a Feb. 5 presentation. The minerals...
If you believe what you see in the press, Alaska's mineral industry was recently given a Christmas gift that trumps even the high-grade anthracite coal that most Alaskans were dreaming of during the last 40-below cold snap. The Alaska Dispatch reported on a recent presentation at the fall 2013 meeting of the American Geophysical Union titled, "Critical Metals in Western Arctic Ocean Ferromanganese Mineral Deposits," by James Hein, a senior scientist at the U.S. Geological...
Following a rising chorus of junior companies touting impressive exploration programs on mineral prospects across Alaska that reached its crescendo in 2011, a deafening silence is resonating across the Far North expanse in 2013. And in the junior mining sector, no news is bad news. Mineral exploration expenditures in Alaska, which were a meager US$23.8 million in 2001, climbed to US$347 million by 2008. The "Great Recession of 2008" tightened the equity markets, resulting in...
An employment forecast published by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in October pegged the state's mining sector job growth from 2010 to 2020 at 19 percent. That is second only to health care, at 31 percent, and outpacing the 12 percent average growth across all Alaska industries. Expansion of current operations coupled with prospects of building mines at the world-class Livengood and Donlin gold deposits were cited as drivers behind adding new miners t...
In a long overdue step to bring Alaska into the 21st Century, state and federal agencies met in late June to discuss collaborative funding strategies for Alaska's Statewide Digital Mapping Initiative, an enterprise designed to create Alaska's first high-quality digital topographic map. The roundtable was convened by Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell and the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of Interior. Alaska remains the only state in the United States...
Usibelli Coal Mine Inc.'s Healy operation, Alaska's longest lived mine, produced a record 2.2 million short tons of coal in 2011. This marks the fifth straight year of production growth for Usibelli, a trend the family-owned company foresees continuing in 2012. "We expect to mine a slightly higher tonnage in 2012, approximately 2.4 million short tons," Usibelli Vice President Customer Relations Bill Brophy told Mining News. Six Interior Alaska power plants consumed some 1...
There are some new statistics just out from the Alaska Miners Association that I thought you might like to see. For 2011, the Alaska mining industry accounted for 4,500 direct jobs and 9,000 indirect jobs. The industry paid US$620 million in payroll with the average salary totaling US$100,000 per year, which is double the statewide average for all sectors. The industry paid US$148 million in rents, royalties, taxes and other fees to the State of Alaska (up 170 percent over...
I was tempted to make a few 2012 predictions now that 2011 is nearly gone, but I decided not to when I came across the following lines and was struck by how closely they mimic our current mining climate: "On a more local level, several old Alaska properties have been rejuvenated by new players to the Alaska mineral scene. Reserve announcements have touched off renewed land acquisitions and property negotiations. Contracts for technical personnel, drill rigs, helicopters and...
Will the next decade usher in a mining renaissance in Alaska? With six operating mines producing some US$3 billion worth of minerals in 2010 and another 10 projects positioning themselves to join the ranks, mining in the Far North state is beginning to show a glimmer of its former glory. A century ago dozens of mines were operating across the Last Frontier, including world-class operations such as Treadwell, the largest gold mine of its time, and Kennecott, considered to be...
With coal demand on the rise both in Alaska and the Pacific Rim, Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. coal sales are expected to top 2 million short tons in 2010, marking another record year for the family-owned business. Usibelli Vice President of Planning and Budget Keith Walters told Mining News that the record sales are split nearly evenly between in-state and overseas buyers. Located next to the Alaska Railroad in Healy, Usibelli's operations are well suited for meeting the needs of...
Alaska's mining industry is entering the final lap for what has turned out to be a more robust than expected year for exploration, development and production. Strong worldwide demand for mined products has certainly helped push metallic and energy minerals prices up, but all is not rosy for Alaska's mineral industry. A recent CNBC report placed Alaska dead last of all the states in terms of overall business attractiveness. We were a dismal 46th of 50 in terms of cost of doing...
Mining is becoming increasingly important to Alaskans looking for good-paying jobs. Not only does the industry provide high wages, the geographical diversity of the mines provides employment opportunities to oftentimes economically challenged rural regions of the vast state. According to the Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the number of mining jobs in Alaska has jumped 40.3 percent since 2000, almost triple the statewide average employment growth of 14.1...
Japan is an important player in Alaska's mining industry. The island nation imports more than US$125 million in minerals from the Far North state annually and Tokyo-based businesses own the Pogo gold mine and are making significant investments in other mining projects across the state. To further strengthen this mutually beneficial bond, Alaska accepted an invitation by Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. to update the country's minerals business community about the state...
With access granted and exploration permit in hand, Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. has started a drill program at its Wishbone Hill property 10 miles northeast of Palmer, Alaska. The fourth-generation, family-owned company said the estimated 14 million tons of bituminous coal at Wishbone Hill can fill an important market need among electric utilities that are committed to generating cleaner power. The bituminous coal produces high-heat, yet is ultra-low in sulfur. This summer's...
A conviction-filled speech delivered by Pebble Limited Partnership CEO John Shively at the March 18 Resource Development Council of Alaska breakfast tackled the question on the minds of many in the audience: "What in the hell is going on in this country?" Though Alaska has not been hit as hard as the rest of the nation, the longtime Alaskan points to increased unemployment and dropping home sales as indications of the state's weakening economy. He said rural Alaska is being...
The Alaska Miners Association recently released an economic benefits summary of the Alaska mining industry. This summary indicated that in 2009 the Alaska mining industry provided 3,300 direct jobs along with 5,200 indirect jobs in 120 communities in Alaska with a combined payroll of US$320 million. Average industry jobs came in at US$83,000 per year, which is 85 percent higher than the average Alaska wage and second only to wages in the oil and gas industry. The industry...
Increased interest in Alaska coal from buyers in Asia and Chile boosted exports from the Usibelli Coal Mine to record levels in 2009. According to Steve Denton, vice president for business development for Usibelli Coal Mine Inc., exports jumped 54 percent to 803,572 metric tons last year, or roughly twice the mine's five-year average. The previous peak for exports totaled 723,000 metric tons in 1990. Denton told Mining News Dec. 18 that tightening markets in the Pacific Rim explained the bump. "The demand in the Pacific...
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell reflected on Alaska's rich mining history and vowed to defend the state's mining regulatory process and to oppose unjust attacks on the industry during an address to miners at the Alaska Miners Association 2009 Annual Convention. While falling short of pointing directly to those who are fighting to prevent development and further exploration at the Pebble project in Southwest Alaska, the Alaska Governor's words addressed the issues state regulators and the Pebble Mine owners are facing. "We are...
