What Does AMA Mean to You?
Dan Graham, General Manager, Donlin Gold AMA is a place to learn from coworkers; a place to share ideas
Joe Usibelli, Usibelli Coal Mine Usibelli Coal Mine has been an active member of AMA for decades. We proudly supply coal to six power plants in Interior Alaska that provide affordable and reliable heat and power to
and collectively devise solutions to challenges we face; it is an entity we as projects learn to look to for help and know we can rely on without fail. It is a dedicated group of very few employees and numerous volunteers. Curt Freeman, Geologist In early 1989, Alaska and American Mining Hall of Famer Dr. Earl Beistline gave me a copy of the minutes of the first AMA Board of Directors meeting,
military bases, homes, hospitals, schools and businesses. Usibelli is the largest private-sector, year-round employer in the Denali Borough and we contribute revenues to our local and state governments. Being an AMA member has helped us achieve our success, and we know that our Association will keep on fighting for Alaska miners no matter the challenge.
Tisha Kuhns, Vice President of Land and Natural Resources, Calista Corporation Since my career
held in 1939. Sadly, I no longer have that document but I read part of those minutes to the 1989 AMA
started in geology in 2005, the Alaska Miners Association events were (and still are) a huge learning event for me. Not only were the educational sessions great, it was a place to catch up with other colleagues, who have moved on to
convention in Anchorage. What I read was a short list of the issues facing the 1939 Alaska Mining industry. Change the date, and a few names and that list of issues is virtually the same today. Access, infrastructure, water use, Federal overreach, State regulations, staking laws, etc. I am not saying the AMA has done nothing in the last 75 years, quite the opposite. I see AMA as the voice of an organization that is stronger than the sum of its parts. Its role as an advocate for the industry, as an educational forum for the jobs and products we create, is critical to a resource- rich state like Alaska.
work on other projects in Alaska. AMA has been a stable source for our industry from updates in the political realm that could have impacts on the industry to setting a high standard for operating in Alaska. These standards don’t just stay within the industry but has lasting and positive effects for our cities, boroughs, businesses and, naturally, becomes such an internal standard-value that we bring it home to our families. I am proud to be an AMA Board Member. Thank you, AMA, for keeping our industry aligned!
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Year in Review 2020 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
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