Cleveland-Cliffs announced it is spending $104 on environmental and production upgrades to its United Taconite facility near Eveleth. This comes shortly after the company bought out the minority owners, assuming full command of the mine and production plant.
From today’s Duluth News-Tribune:
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is proposing to spend approximately $104 million on improvements to its United Taconite facility in Forbes under an initiative called the Green Production Project, the company announced today.
The project will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, mercury and other air pollutants while increasing production of taconite pellets from 5.3 million tons to 6 million tons per year and adding 24 new jobs. The company filed a permit amendment for the project Friday with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Construction work on the project will begin after the permit amendments are finalized – perhaps by the end of the year.
Again, steel is priced very high right now and these companies are investing in their ability to extract ore for as long as they can sell it. Also, environmental regs and the real possibility of a cap and trade carbon reduction standard is forcing these companies into emissions controls.
By my count, most of the mines on the Iron Range will be running at maximum production for the next couple of years at least, maybe longer. That means a healthy flow of public revenue into our local communities and Iron Range Resources. What are we going to do with it? Let’s make it count. We need to light up our Range cities with infrastructure improvements and knock the rust off our economic development plans.
Speak Your Mind