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Kinross Fort Knox åýŅųƋ ±ĜÚŸĜĹĀŸĘåųĜ域ƚÏÏ域
SPECIAL TO THE ALASKA MINER The development of a mine, when well planned, can provide opportuni- ties to address past mining impacts and even create the potential to en- hance the surrounding environment. At the Fort Knox facility in Fairbanks, Alaska, mine development has cre- ated a self-sustaining Arctic grayling ʭ^SP]dTY_SPbL_P]bLd^TXXPOTL_P - ly downstream of the operation. Fort Knox is located on Fish Creek about 26 miles northeast of Fair- banks in one of the largest gold pro- ducers in Alaska. Prior to development of the current mine beginning in 1992, Fish Creek SLO MPPY NWL^^TʭPO L^ LY TX[LT]PO water body by the state’s Depart- ment of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Environmental Protec- tion Agency, the result of mining ac- tivities that had been underway since the Fairbanks Gold Rush of the early $^ BL_P] \`LWT_d LYO ʭ^S SLM - itat were seriously undermined by excessive sediment concentrations, `YNZY_]ZWWPO ]`YZʬ LYO P]Z^TZY Fish populations, including those of the Arctic grayling and the burbot, were decimated. The development of the new mine N]PL_POZ[[Z]_`YT_TP^_Zʭc_SPOLX - LRPLYO]PaT_LWTeP_SP^_]PLXɪ^ʭ^S - eries. This included restoration of 1.5 miles of Fish Creek and neigh- boring wetlands, which eliminated
Joe Usibelli Jr. and his daughter Lexi with Emil’s original TD-40 bulldozer, 2010.
the decades, but the pioneering spirit of Emil Usibelli still guides the company today. We look forward to producing affordable energy, while protecting the quality of environment, for many decades to come. A HERITAGE OF TENACITY
Emil Usibelli, the founder of Usibelli Coal Mine, arrived in Alaska penniless during the throes of the Great Depression. Yet in less than a decade he had started a mine that was destined to become one of Alaska’s oldest and most successful businesses. Much has changed over
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April 2019
The Alaska Miner
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