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THE JOURNAL - AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION BY THE ALASKA MINERS ASSOCIATION
MARCH 2026 | WWW.ALASKAMINERS.ORG
Alaska Mining Hall of Fame Foundation to induct Heflinger, Sims at History Night
of geological engineering at the University of Alaska-Fair- banks (UAF). In 1981, John went from UAF to being the Director of the newly created Office of Mineral Development (OMD) within the Department of Commerce and Economic Development (DCED). It was there where John was able to obtain crucial funding that led to a joint annual publication between ADNR and DCED that summarizes Alaska’s Mineral Industry, which continues to this day. John also began to work with Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. (UCM) on their plans to export coal to the Pacific Rim, which was initiated in 1985. In 1986, John joined UCM in Fairbanks and helped with many others to sustain the coal export market devel- oped between UCM and the Korean Electric Power Company (KEPCO) in South Korea; later UCM coal was shipped to other Pacific Rim destinations although the KEPCO contract remained the most important market. The export of Usibelli’s coal to the Pacific Rim, which lasted for more than three decades, constituted the first significant exports of Alaska’s mineral resources (exclud- ing petroleum) to international market destinations. John loved golf and after retirement, played all over the world. Unfortunately, following a lengthy illness associ- ated with diabetes, he passed away on April 1, 2015, in Tucson, AZ, at the age of 82.
Besides the mining business, Carl was a founding partner of GHEMM Company in 1950, and owned and operated a car repair shop, a grocery store and apartments. In 2004, Carl moved to the Fairbanks Pioneer Home, where he was able to spend quality time with his beloved wife, Dorothy. John Frank Michael Sims (1933-2015)
T he Alaska Mining Hall of Fame will induct two new members — Carl Heflinger and John Frank Sims — during History Night starting at 7 p.m. April 8 at its museum on 406 Cushman Street in downtown Fair- banks. There is no charge for the event and the public is invited to attend. Here is more information on the pair: Carl Heflinger (1912-2014) Iconic Alaska placer gold miner Carl Heflinger was born May 17, 1912 in the coal mining town of Taylor, Wash., and passed away on Dec. 14, 2014, in Fairbanks at the age of 102. He arrived in Alaska in 1932 during the Great Depression, first selling cordwood in Anchorage, and later hired as a placer gold miner in Fairbanks in 1934. Carl spent WWII working with the U.S. Army Air Corps at Ladd Field, servicing such iconic aircraft as the P-39 Air Cobra, which was an integral part of the USA/USSR Lend Lease Program. Carl mined placer gold in the 40 Mile district near Boundary, on Monte Cristo Creek near Fairbanks (now the site of the Fort Knox mine), but mostly in the
John Frank Michael (F. M.) Sims was born and raised in England, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science (with honors) degree in economic geology from Durham University. That same year, he began a
21-year career with Anglo Amer- ican Corporation, with whom he worked on three continents. His specialty was the exploration of lode gold-quartz sulfide depos- its of the South African type. He obtained a Phd from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1969. John moved to Fairbanks with his wife and three chil- dren in 1977, where he accepted a position of professor
Livengood district northwest of Fairbanks, where he spent most of his 65-year mining career. Carl and his family continued to mine placer gold in the Livengood Mining district until 1999.
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