Mining News: Usibelli 2010 coal sales set new record 12/19/2010
Shipping a record million tons to Pacific Rim buyers, the family-owned business says Alaska is still its most important market
With coal demand on the rise both in Alaska and the Pacific Rim, Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. coal sales are expected to top 2 million short tons in 2010, marking another record year for the family-owned b...

Oil Patch Bits: Air Liquide to participate in power plant storage 11/14/2010
Air Liquide Process and Construction Inc., part of the Air Liquide Engineering and Construction organization, said Oct. 7 that it has been named by the U.S. Department of Energy to participate in the deve...

Oil Patch Insider 04/25/2010
Sulfur recycling at Nikiski; Kvisle says North Slope, Mac gas needed; Cameron's 'Convenient Untruth'; gas, at last (for Homer)?
It might have happened two and a half years ago, but since it's a once-in-a-decade occurrence at the Nikiski, Alaska, facility, it's still news ... relatively. The first refinery in Alaska to invest in...

Mining News: Technology evolves with CO2 emission cuts 02/28/2010
United States boasts 28% of world's known coal deposits; demand for greenhouse gas reductions spurs unprecedented research
As researchers around the world strive to shrink the level of greenhouse gases pouring into the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion and other sources, one aspect of the challenge is taking on new d...

Planning for different power outcomes 12/20/2009
In developing an integrated resource plan for power generation and transmission in the Alaska Railbelt, consultancy firm Black and Veatch evaluated four possible future power scenarios, Kevin Harper, Bl...

Power for the future 12/20/2009
AEA publishes draft integrated resource plan for Alaska Railbelt electricity
The Alaska Energy Authority has published a draft regional integrated resource plan that presents options and recommendations for the future of electricity power generation, transmission and demand ma...

Mining Explorers 2009: Increasing reserves to meet demand 11/01/2009
Usibelli closes in on nearly 1 billion tons of coal to position company for future growth
Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. completed a property wide reassessment of all available geologic data of its leases in the Nenana Coal Field in Interior Alaska, increasing its surface mineable coal reserves t...

Railbelt crossroads 10/11/2009
Gas-dependent SC Alaska tries to determine how to meet energy needs
As the Municipality of Anchorage prepares for the possibility of natural gas shortages during the cold of the coming winter, shortages that would cause the electric utilities to activate contingency p...

Mining News: B.C. junior gets OK to mine coal sample 09/27/2009
First Coal: Extracting soft mineral from high–quality deposit will test new mining system and bring much-need jobs to region
First Coal Corp. Sept. 2 said British Columbia's Chief Inspector of Mines has approved an application to amend the Vancouver-based junior's exploration permit and extract a bulk sample of up to 50,000...

Mining News: Teck Resources mine rescue teams earn 11 safety awards 07/26/2009
The Province of British Columbia recognized two of Teck Resources Ltd.'s coal operations for excellence in mine safety at the 54th Annual Provincial Mine Rescue, First Aid and Safety Awards ceremony h...

Mining News: AIDEA aims to end Healy clean coal deal 07/26/2009
Authority took action in ongoing efforts to return experimental power plant to operation; Homer Electric says it's not over yet
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority said it served notice to Homer Electric Association that it is terminating a 2006 agreement with the utility to place the Healy Clean Coal Projec...

GVEA reconsiders approach to Healy plant 05/24/2009
Homer Electric Association back-out makes fate of Healy Clean Coal Project uncertain; HEA was to have bought power starting in '14
The fate of the long-idle Healy Clean Coal Project is once again up in the air after the Homer Electric Association board on May 12 backed out of a deal with Golden Valley Electric Association and the...

Mining News: Aussie miner finds opportunity in Alaska 02/22/2009
Black Range Minerals grabs near-development -stage coal project in Southcentral Alaska; seeks other mining investment in North
In an effort to discover projects outside Australia's highly competitive mining sector, Perth-based Black Range Minerals Ltd. began investigating the United States for new regions to explore. In 2008,...

Mining News: Gold bucks trend by holding its own 01/25/2009
Global financial turmoil fails to tank production, investment in precious metal around the world even as costs continue to rise
Despite the strong price and increasing investment surge for gold, Gold Fields Mineral Services reported in it's Gold Survey 2008 summary that global gold mine production dropped 4 percent in 2008 to...

All about the climate 01/25/2009
Challenging future for permitting as climate change initiatives gain traction
The question of whether climate change will impact the regulatory situation in Alaska is now past, attorney Eric Fjelstad from Perkins Coie LLP told the Seminar Group's Permitting Strategies in Alaska...

Economy trumps environment 12/07/2008
Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice says 'present-day economic realities' force re-examination of environmental policy
The Canadian government will not harm an already weakening economy to pursue environmental goals, said newly appointed Environment Minister Jim Prentice in his first major speech since taking over the...

RFP out for Alaska Railbelt power plan 11/23/2008
AEA is looking for a contractor to develop an integrated resource plan for future electricity generation and transmission
Hard on the heels of publishing a report on how the Alaska Railbelt electrical grid should be managed, the Alaska Energy Authority is looking for a contractor to develop a plan that will recommend how...

Tallying odds on railbelt energy race 12/16/2007
Forecasting power supply winners depends on assessing risks associated with factors such as future gas prices, potential carbon tax
About the only thing that's certain about the future of power supplies in the Alaska Railbelt is that some things need to change. Tight natural gas supplies, increasing gas prices, proposals for a gas...

Electric storm brewing in railbelt 12/02/2007
Aging Alaska power stations and infrastructure, combined with growing demand, tight gas supply behind urgency for change
A "perfect storm" of technical and economic issues seems to be heading straight towards the Alaska Railbelt electrical power grid. And, with reliable and reasonably priced electrical energy underpinni...

Resolving Southcentral power puzzle 10/14/2007
Alaska Energy Authority conference seeks options for managing the power grid, while MEA petitions for unified operation
Few of us when we switch on an electric light worry too much about where the electrons that pass through the light bulb originate. But, in Southcentral Alaska, with escalating natural gas prices, ques...

Arctic gas sales no slam dunk 09/23/2007
Stealing market share from other, cheaper energy sources could be tough
As with any commodity, set the right price for natural gas and people will buy it. But high production and transportation costs for natural gas supplies from the Arctic could make sales of that gas ch...

Push to protect planet 08/05/2007
North American free trade partners sign alternative energy agreement
The United States, Canada and Mexico - the big energy user in North America and its two leading suppliers - have moved another step closer to lowering trade barriers to cleaner, alternative energy dev...

MINING NEWS: Rail link would transport Yukon iron ore 07/29/2007
Alaska-Canada rail link could benefit dozens of mining projects, but which comes first - resource development or infrastructure?
Proponents of an Alaska-Canada rail link are thinking big. In a phase 1 feasibility study commissioned by the State of Alaska and the Yukon government and published in June, they estimate that the pro...