site location for reprocessing. In addition to offering a domestic source of critical minerals, this idea would lessen Green Creek's environ- mental footprint on the Southeast Alaska island where the world-class silver mine is located. Interior Alaska energy mine Alaska's oldest continuously operat- ing mine does not produce gold, zinc, or silver. Instead, this operation about 115 miles south of Fairbanks provides the coal that keeps the lights and heat on during the long, cold, and dark winter nights in the state's Interior region. Established in 1943 to provide coal to U.S. military installations in Interior Alaska, Usibelli Coal Mine (UCM) has grown into a family-owned enterprise that delivers one million tons of fuel to six Interior Alaska powerplants per year. One of these things that Usibelli is most proud of is the exceptional safe- ty record of the more than 100 workers that deliver this coal. In early Septem- ber, UCM celebrated 1,000 consecutive days without a lost time accident. Like many other coal deposits around the nation, the coal seams on UCM's properties are enriched with rare earths,
germanium, and other critical minerals. Looking for value-added opportu- nities, UCM is investigating the po- tential to recover these critical miner- als from materials above and between the coal seams, coal that is not of high enough quality for power generation, and ash from a power plant at the mouth of the mine. Whether producing coal or explor- ing the Interior Alaska project's critical minerals potential, UCM is continu- ously investing in advanced technol- ogies and best practices to ensure its operations align with the highest en- vironmental standards. "Beyond our commitment to safety, we also recognize our responsibility to the environment and the communi- ties we serve," said Joe Usibelli Jr. "We strive to leave a positive legacy for fu- ture generations." The next generation of Alaska mines will likely be the product of some of the 50 mineral exploration projects in the state. According to data compiled by DGGS, $230 million was invested in exploring for gold, silver, zinc, cop- per, graphite, nickel, cobalt, platinum group metals, rare earth elements, and other minerals during 2023.
VALUE, CONTINUED from PAGE 40
is 14 years," Baker informed inves- tors and analysts on Feb. 15. "This past year's underground exploration had good success in seven of the eight zones drilled with four of those zones in the fourth quarter." In addition to adding underground silver reserves, Hecla is revisiting the critical minerals potential it has been stockpiling on the surface over the past 37 years. In addition to silver, zinc, lead, and gold, Greens Creek ore is enriched with at least seven critical minerals — antimony, arsenic, barite, bismuth, gallium, germanium, and indium. During a Nov. 8 keynote presenta- tion at the Alaska Miners Association convention in Anchorage, Baker said the tailings at Greens Creek contain an estimated $3 billion worth of met- als, including "lots of critical minerals that you don't really think of" during initial mining. Hecla is currently studying the vi- ability of transporting these tailings contained within a dry-stack storage facility on Admiralty Island to an off-
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The Alaska Miner
Spring 2024
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