Known as the Suntrana Formation, three seams of coal ranging from an average of 18 to 30 feet thick are covered with layers of overburden that can be more than 100 feet thick. After removal of the overburden, the coal is mined, crushed, and brought to market mainly by rail, though a small amount of coal is trucked to consumers as well.

The primary pieces of equipment utilized to remove overburden are the Bucyrus Erie 1300W walking dragline, a variety of bulldozers, various large dump trucks and shovels/loaders, and explosives conducting caste blasting operations.

The Bucyrus Erie 1300W walking dragline, affectionately named “Ace-In-The-Hole,” is Alaska’s largest mobile land machine and removes overburden on top of the coal seams. The machine was purchased in 1977. It was transported to Healy on 26 rail cars and 40 trucks and took 11 months to assemble. The dragline has a total weight of more than 2,200 tons. The dragline bucket moves 33 to 37 cubic yards of material. The crew consists of two operators that rotate positions every hour. When they aren’t at the controls, they do maintenance and repair. The dragline is electrically powered through a large cable connected to the utility power system.

Mining is primarily from seams 3, 4, and 6 of the Suntrana Formation. These seams average approximately 18' (5.5m), 30' (9.1m), and 24' (7.3m) respectively.

Raw coal is crushed to 2" x 0" (50 mm x 0 mm) but no washing is performed. Screening circuit can reduce minus 1/4" (6 mm) to less than 10% with top size to 6" (150 mm).

Coal is transported to six Interior Alaska electric power generation plants – including five cogeneration plants: Fort Wainwright (U.S. Army), Eielson Air Force Base, Clear Air Force Station, Aurora Energy – a wholesale supplier of electricity and provider of district heat in Fairbanks, and the University of Alaska’s power plant. A mine mouth plant - Healy #1 operated by Golden Valley Electric Association is located adjacent to the mine site and coal is delivered directly from the pit to the plant.

Over the years Usibelli Coal Mine has exported coal to Pacific Rim destinations including: Chile, South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Russia.