Prying open the Western Arctic coal storehouse.

• Author: Griffin, Judith Fuerst

In 1826 the ocean-voyaging steamships that were the first commercial users of Alaska's Arctic coal deposits simply anchored off the coastline to tap the resource. But today access is one of the biggest hurdles to developing the region's vast coal fields.

The Northern Alaska Coal Province is believed to hold almost one tenth of the world's coal, with estimates ranging from 460 billion tons to as high as 4 trillion tons. Stretching 300 miles across Northern Alaska, the province holds sub-bituminous and bituminous coals.

Although mineable quantities of high-quality coal lie within six miles of the Chukchi Sea coastline, a short marine shipping window of only 7590 ice-free days prevents regular delivery to major markets that lie thousands of miles away. Use in local domestic markets also has been impeded by a lack of road or rail transportation.

During the past 10 years, studies focusing on potential markets, characteristics of the coal, the nature of northern coal-mining operations and transportation solutions have helped to define the resource's potential. Arctic Slope Regional Corp., a Native regional corporation with offices in Barrow and Anchorage and the major private-sector owner of Western Arctic coal deposits, cites several reasons for promoting development of its coal assets: to create new jobs for shareholders, to establish a less polluting energy source than the diesel fuel currently being used in Northwest Alaska communities and to further diversify the firm's operations and revenues.

Most recent exploration has been conducted at the Dead fall Syncline site. Near the Chukchi Sea, the prospect contains fairly simple coal structures accessible through conventional surface mining techniques. In the spring of 1990, 380 tons of coal mined from that site were used as a heating fuel in 48 test furnaces operating in the villages of Wainwright, Point Lay and Point Hope.

The North Slope Borough has picked up the tab for the project, spending an annual average of almost $1 million since 1986 to gather baseline data, test production methods and train and employ local workers. If coal replaces diesel fuel for space heating in the three communities that have tested the coal, it's estimated that about 7,000 tons of coal per year would be consumed. According to Arctic Slope's calculations, 50,000 tons would have to be marketable from the Deadfall Syncline site to make the operation feasible.

Other potential users in Alaska are Nome, Kotzebue, the...