KeeTac staying down indefinitely

The entrance to Keewatin Taconite, a U.S. Steel mine on the western Mesabi Iron Range. (PHOTO: City of Keewatin)

The entrance to Keewatin Taconite, a U.S. Steel mine on the western Mesabi Iron Range. (PHOTO: City of Keewatin)

As many media outlets have already reported, U.S. Steel announced Friday that, come Oct. 11, the company would lay off all remaining maintenance workers at Keewatin Taconite. The mine has been idled since May.

The local newspaper reported that it was “another” shutdown, but it is important to note that the plant never started up again. The cooling stack behind the Keewatin skyline hasn’t spewed any steam for almost months. One wonders when it will?

Given the current status of negotiations between U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers and the continued sluggish price of iron ore it seems possible that this idling could last at least the rest of the year.

Iron ore prices were hovering around $56/ton last week in Chinese ports. That’s actually a lot higher than people feared the price would go this month, according to this Financial Times article. The Chinese are finally burning through their supplies, which might ease their exports. However, huge new outputs of cheap ore from Australia and Brazil conspire to keep the price at or below the cost of producing ore on the Mesabi.

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