Usibelli Coal Mine: celebrating 60 years in Alaska: this operation near Healy is the 'poster child' of environmentally friendly mining.

• Author: Caballero, Christy

Usibelli Coal Mine, a year-round operation that is located within the Alaska Range near Healy, has been in business since 1943. It's a close-knit operation with a family feel to it.

"We have about 75 employees right now," said Bill Brophy, vice president of customer relations. "These are good, solid jobs--and we have second-and third-generation employees with the company.

"We're getting to a little more mature work force. That's the way it is when you're based in Healy, a community of 1,000. Folks just don't leave the company. I've been here three years, and I'm like second or third from the bottom of the list seniority-wise."

Usibelli Coal Mine was founded 60 years ago by Emil Usibelli, a gutsy Italian who didn't let a mining injury diminish his future. Instead, he charted his own course and came back to the work force as his own boss at age 50, with a used International TD-40 dozer, 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.

His methods were unorthodox--he pushed overburden off the coal outcrops with the dozer, and then pushed the exposed coal into the truck bed. Underground miners raised an eyebrow--but Usibelli met his contract obligations.

Six decades later, Usibelli's little red dozer sits in front of the office/shop complex, affectionately restored by employees. Mine production has grown from 10,000 tons a year to an average approaching 1.2 million tons this calendar year, supplying six Interior Alaska power plants with coal.

"At our peak, with the previous Korean export quantities, we reached 1.5 million tons per year, and we have the capability to increase to approximately 3 million tons per year with an increased (easily achievable) work force, without adding new facilities and capital equipment," Brophy said.

Adding to its staff would perhaps be the easiest part.

"People go to work there and they stay," said Steve Borell of the Alaska Miner's Association. "In this time of lots of transition in companies, their employee loyalty is excellent, which in itself is another statement on the quality of their operations and management."

Asked about the ups and downs of foreign and domestic markets, Brophy said he sees Usibelli Coal Mine as more of a constant.

"This company is a gem in my opinion--ups and downs carry with it a connotation of troubled times and good times. I actually think (growth has occurred) at a pretty steady pace.

"We built up to a total of 1.5 million tons a couple of years ago, when we were at a peak, including 700,000 tons to Korea," Brophy said. "That's good business."

Although the Korean market was interrupted, the previous 17 years of continuous business sparked negotiations that have reopened the door.

"We're looking at about half the...