ining, like most other industries, bounced back in 2021 compared to the year before. According to the annual Economic Benefits of Alaska’s Mining Industry report compiled for the Alaska Miners Association (AMA) by McKinley Research Group, employment averaged 5,400 workers throughout the year, up by 700 compared to 2020. That’s the equivalent of adding an entire Pogo or Red Dog mine—except, of course, the number of major mines remained steady.

Projects in the permitting or development stage, years in the works, are nearly a reality. When, for instance, Donlin Gold begins operations, the open pit mine would employ an estimated 1,000 workers. That would be like plopping a brand-new Alaska Railroad or Alyeska Resort into the state’s economic landscape. Smaller prospects, like Graphite Creek or Livengood, are each on the scale of adding a Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport or every Subway restaurant in the state, in terms of workforce.

Projects closest to production are the top of a much bigger untapped mineral resource. For example, the US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated in 2004 that Alaska has 40 percent more coal (measured, indicated, inferred, and hypothetical) than the Lower 48. The North Slope alone may be richer in coal than in oil or natural gas, with up to one-third of the US reserve of high quality bituminous and sub-bituminous coal thought to lie beneath the region.

This installment of Alaska Trends picks and polishes data from the AMA report. Let’s dig in.