orld War II wrought lasting changes in Alaska. The town of Whittier was built from scratch as a rail port, for example. The Alaska Highway, constructed in a single season, connected the territory to the Lower 48 through Canada. And military interest in oil reserves led to exploration on the North Slope.

The war also gave the state its only currently producing coal mine, now marking its 80th anniversary.

Emil Usibelli, an Italian immigrant, worked in Interior Alaska’s underground coal mines throughout the ‘30s. In 1943, he and his friend, Thad Sandford, obtained a coal lease from the US Army to produce 10,000 tons of coal within a year for Ladd Army Airfield, today’s Fort Wainwright. Rather than tunnel underground, Usibelli worked with a TD-40 dozer and a converted GMC logging truck to till soil away from outcrops, and then he pushed exposed coal into the truck bed.

Some mining traditionalists were skeptical, but this overground method worked. Usibelli continued to develop tools and technology as he formally incorporated his company in 1948. By 1950, Usibelli’s overground mining strategy had the company’s annual coal output exceeding all others in Alaska combined. Usibelli purchased the nearby Suntrana coal mine in 1961, a final step in leading the Interior coal market in the military, commercial, and municipal sectors.

Today, Usibelli Coal Mine (UCM) produces more than 1 million tons of coal per year, all of which is burned at six Interior power plants. From its rustic and humble beginnings, steered by the vision of its pioneering founder, Usibelli is a true powerhouse in the Interior—not just literally, for the valuable coal it supplies, but for its economic impact and community investment.

“Usibelli has a great story,” says Lisa Cassino, UCM vice president of public relations. “We remain family-owned and operated and the longest continually operated mine in the state.”

Leadership of the company passed from Emil Usibelli to his son, the late Joseph Usibelli Sr., and now to his grandson, Joe Usibelli Jr.

Approximately 322 direct and indirect Alaska employees rely on coal to make a living, according to Cassino. About one-third of those are UCM’s year-round employees, earning wages more than twice the statewide average. The mine’s statewide employment multiplier is about three—meaning that for every job created at the mine, two indirect and induced jobs are created elsewhere in the Alaska economy, according to McKinley Research Group.

“More than $48 million can be attributed to statewide wages related to coal mining,” Cassino says. “One-third of our workforce are second, third, or fourth-generation coal miners. Whenever possible, UCM strives to do business locally or within Alaska.”

The impact is especially notable in the company’s hometown of Healy, about 115 miles south of Fairbanks and 10 miles north of the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve. At Milepost 248 of the Parks Highway, the town has a history deeply entwined with mining, its largest year-round employer. About 10 percent of Healy’s population works at the mine, and those account for 85 percent of the mine’s total year-round jobs. It is the largest private-sector, year-round employer in the Denali Borough.

“There is a uniquely close bond between Usibelli Coal Mine and Healy,” says Borough Mayor Clay Walker. “In many ways, Healy is here because of the mine.”

If UCM is an economic backbone for Healy, it is a vital component of the energy generation strategy for the entire region.

“Interior Alaska already pays some of the highest energy costs in the nation. Without Usibelli coal, the ratepayers in the Interior would be paying an additional $240 million to $300 million more in energy costs,” says Cassino. According to McKinley Research Group, Interior Alaska residents face annual energy costs more than double the national average: $5,300 annually for Fairbanks North Star Borough residents compared to the US average of $2,307.

The region’s energy producers rely on coal due to its affordable and stable pricing, well-developed local production and supply chain, and the ability to stockpile quantities needed to ensure reliable energy supplies.

“Coal is a reliable fuel source that Alaskans can count on,” Cassino says. “When the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine, Usibelli coal is there. You can’t live without heat and power when it’s cold and dark outside.”

In 2023, UCM expects to produce more than 1 million tons of ultra-low sulfur coal from its Two Bull Ridge and Jumbo Dome mines. From that annual haul, it provides fuel for six power plants: UAF, Aurora Energy in central Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, Eielson Air Force Base, and Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA) Healy Units 1 and 2.

These six coal-fired plants have a combined capacity of 165MW. In 2020, the coal-fired plants accounted for 50 percent of electricity generation in the Interior region, followed by naphtha and diesel fuel sources, at 26 percent and 12 percent respectively.

GVEA’s Healy Units 1 and 2 are considered mine-mouth power plants. “Instead of transporting coal via the Alaska Railroad as we do with the power plants in the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Usibelli directly hauls coal to GVEA’s power plants via our haul trucks,” Cassino says. After Healy Units 1 and 2 burn the coal, trucks return ash to the mine for burial.

This stability of on-hand resources protects Interior populations from shortages and further price surges, Cassino adds. Interior communities are connected to the Railbelt grid via a 75MW electric transmission line. However, availability of power over the intertie is not guaranteed, according to the 2022 McKinley Research Group “Energy and Economic Impacts of Coal in Interior Alaska” report, so a local energy source adds resilience.

“Each power plant has an uninterruptible coal supply due to the stockpiles near the plants, averaging between forty and ninety days,” Cassino says. “We are also proud to support the resiliency and readiness of the Interior’s military installations. For eighty years, UCM has been supplying coal to support military operations.”

In terms of delivering coal to customers, UCM enjoys some convenient and strategic partnerships that strengthen operations and support mutually beneficial business strategies.

One of those best-known business partnerships is the close tie between UCM and the Alaska Railroad, dating back to when train cars moved Emil Usibelli’s coal to Ladd Field in 1943.

“Both UCM and the Alaska Railroad have the same goal: to serve Alaskans in the Interior by providing heat and electrical power on a reliable and affordable basis,” says Christy Terry, director of external affairs for the Alaska Railroad Corporation.

“Our mission is to support and grow economic development within the state of Alaska,” Terry says. “This lines up with UCM’s objective, serving communities’ heat and power needs. To achieve that objective, UCM produces tons of coal best transported via rail service to Fairbanks and beyond. Using the Alaska Railroad is the most cost-effective means of moving mass quantities in a manner that ensures uninterrupted supply. Railroads can offer the most fuel-efficient way to move freight over land, each ton able to move up to 500 miles per gallon of fuel.”

Some UCM customers contract with the mine for delivered coal, and Usibelli subcontracts with the Alaska Railroad to make those deliveries. UAF and Aurora Energy contract for delivery directly with the railroad. Coal accounted for 27 percent of total freight tonnage in 2020 and 14 percent of total operating revenues earned for the railroad, according to the McKinley Research Group report, naming the railroad as one of the mine’s largest vendors.

The University of Alaska is another steady customer. UAF consumes about 80,000 tons of coal each year to heat and power campus buildings and facilities, according to UCM. If UAF were to generate this level of energy with only heating oil, UCM estimates that its energy costs would triple.

In 2022, Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base spent an estimated $27.5 million on coal purchases.

The abundance of coal deposits in Healy allowed UCM to begin exporting the resource in 1984 to South Korea via the Alaska Railroad’s terminal in Seward. Chile started buying Usibelli coal in 2003, and Japan began taking exports in 2008. Exports peaked in 2011, but then Chile and South Korea shifted away from overseas suppliers. By 2021, every bit of coal mined in Healy remained in Alaska for domestic consumption.

While UCM’s business is all about powering others, it must contend with how to power its own expansive operations.

According to Cassino, the mine’s largest piece of equipment is the “Ace-in-the-Hole” dragline, the largest land-based machine in Alaska, weighing just over 4 million pounds.

“The bucket on the front of the dragline can move approximately 33 cubic yards of dirt at a time,” she says. “The dragline operates on electricity, and in 1977 when we first ‘plugged in’ the machine, the power plant in Healy could not support both the dragline and the town of Healy. It caused power outages and flickering lights.”

Thus, a flywheel system was installed that operates parallel to the dragline and helps stabilize the power drawn from GVEA’s Healy power plants.

“Essentially, the cables and bucket are lifting a load, or dragging, using large amounts of power,” Cassino says. “However, after the bucket has been emptied and the cables are swinging the bucket back out, they are generating power. The flywheel allows us to store the power that is being generated by the cables, until the dragline needs it.”

Other equipment in the UCM fleet—all the haul trucks, dozers, and excavators—use diesel fuel. To aid in maintaining the fleet, several of the mine’s trucks now carry technology that provides UCM with real-time data on oil levels, engine issues, and other diagnostics, allowing the maintenance department to schedule service with the least impact on operations.

Over the last several years, UCM has implemented other new technology, such as drone aircraft. More recently, the mine has been studying and engaging in opportunities to implement carbon capture, utilization, and storage. The company believes this technology can further assist power plants in burning more efficiently and cleaner.

Visitors to Healy would have a hard time finding the spot where Emil Usibelli dug his first overground mine. UCM has a longstanding reclamation program that was implemented years before the government required it, restoring mined areas to something close to the original untouched terrain.

Cassino describes the company as stewards of the land, environment, and people.

“UCM is not only a major employer in the area, providing well-paying year-round jobs, but also a reliable contributor to community events and community needs,” says Mayor Walker. “The family wage jobs at UCM drive school enrollment and positively impact all aspects of our local economy.”

UCM’s economic impact includes support of more than 100 nonprofit organizations through contributions by the mine and The Usibelli Foundation. Founded in 1991, The Usibelli Foundation has distributed more than $3 million to local charitable organizations over its thirty-year history, including $150,000 in 2022.

“One of my best days in the office is when I can volunteer at some of the community events and activities we support,” Cassino says. “I recently spent the day celebrating the incredible athleticism of more than 400 athletes at the 2023 Junior North American Cross Country Ski Championship races. It’s safe to say that you can find Usibelli Coal Mine supporting just about every signature event in Interior Alaska.”

With proven reserves of approximately 450 million tons, UCM could continue extracting 1 to 2 million tons every year and, after another eighty years, the mine would still have barely scratched the surface.