FAIRBANKS, Alaska—
State permits have been approved for Usibelli Coal Mine's planned development of a new pit mine northeast of Healy.Usibelli has received the permitting from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
Jumbo Dome Mine will be about six miles from Two Bulls Mine, operated by Usibelli for the past decade.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (http://bit.ly/xnkikc) says both mines will extract from the same coal seam.
Mine officials say that strategy helps keep production costs down.
Usibelli vice president of engineering Fred Wallis says the new mine is expected to produce as much as 90 million tons of coal in the next 30 years.
The mine is named for nearby Jumbo Dome.
