“For most of our history we have been content to assess and report reserves required to cover our existing markets for about 30 years. Recent initiatives requiring several times our current demand have pointed to the need to expand our focus to evaluate the total reserve picture throughout our lease holdings. The results show that we are well positioned to address major increases in future demand for our coal,” said Joseph E. Usibelli Jr.

The reserves were identified by completing a property-wide reassessment of all available geologic data to obtain a current estimate of coal reserves on its leases in the Nenana Coal Field in Interior Alaska. This assessment includes data from hundreds of exploration drill holes, outcrop mapping, production data and other pertinent geologic information.

All of the reserves at Usibelli’s Healy operations are Sub-bituminous C rank coal. Typical as-mined analysis is 7,650 Btu per pound, 28 percent moisture, 9 percent ash and 0.2 percent sulfur. In addition to very low sulfur content, Healy coal is also low in mercury and other trace elements of concern, making it one of the cleanest burning coals in the world.

The family-owned company said the coal reserves on Usibelli leases are well positioned to address opportunities for new clean coal technology initiatives, such as coal-to-liquids production, and projected expansion in coal demand from the Pacific basin. Usibelli’s operations are located adjacent to the Alaska Railroad, which provides year-round rail shipping capability to an ice-free port in Seward, Alaska, where a Usibelli affiliate, Aurora Energy Services, LLC, operates the coal terminal for the Alaska Railroad Corp. Also, the mine’s proximity to the regional power grid facilitates low cost, mine-mouth power production, capable of serving Alaska’s Railbelt region, where the majority of Alaska’s population resides, Usibelli said.