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Cliffs eyes acquiring Essar plant
As snow fades from the ditches of Northern Minnesota, the Essar Steel construction site north of Nashwauk remains frozen in time. Minor movement in and out of the site is but partial salve for the idled hope of hundreds of jobs from the region’s largest new mining project in a generation. Essar has stated that it hopes…
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Cliffs CEO: UTac to reopen in 2016
Today, Cliffs Natural Resources CEO Lourenco Goncalves said that he would reopen United Taconite in Eveleth sometime in 2016. He also said that the company remained committed to next-generation technology for Iron Range ores. He did not, however, name a date that United would reopen. About 500 workers are currently laid off from that mine.…
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Report details serious problems at IRRRB
Today, the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor released its report exploring the organization, authority, effectiveness and transparency of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). The OLA found that the IRRRB “has not adequately overseen the loans and grants it awards for economic development.” The report also dings the agency for its operation…
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Legislative Auditor: Does the IRRRB work?
On Friday, the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor will release a major report on the effectiveness of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB). Though not a subject of much conversation on the street, this report has been long awaited by members of the region’s political class. Some dread what it might say,…
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No spring for you
The Northern Minnesota tradition of briefly allowing hope to enter your heart despite knowledge that disappointment lies ahead carries on. Today, a significant winter storm is settling over our corner of the world. Lots of heavy wet snow, putting added pressure on tree branches, power lines and our fragile psyches. There are many school cancellations.…
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Hibbing must right discrimination wrongs
What follows is more of an editorial, but one forwarded to advance a discussion. One of the most baffling stories on the Iron Range this year has been the sprawling saga of a Hibbing High School administrator found to have engaged in inappropriate and discriminatory behavior with female students. Last year, the administrator was fired…
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Cliffs to reopen Northshore Mining in May
Cliffs Natural Resources announced today it plans to reopen Northshore Mining in Babbitt and Silver Bay by May 15. About 540 people work for Northshore Mining, most of whom have been laid off since last year. “The avalanche of unfairly traded steel hitting the U.S. since last year negatively affected our clients’ production levels and,…
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Iron Range miners get cartoon treatment
The debate over how to extend jobless benefits for Iron Range miners has reached its pinnacle form: the editorial cartoon. There aren’t many editorial cartoons being produced these days. Newspapers don’t pay people to do them anymore. But Steve Sack at the Minneapolis Star Tribune is still drawing. Sack’s latest cartoon depicts the debate over a jobless…
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Kelsey Johnson named president of mining group
On Thursday, the Iron Mining Association of Minnesota Board of Directors named Kelsey Johnson its next president. Johnson is an experienced lobbyist and recent Iron Range legislative candidate who grew up in Gnesen Township. The Iron Mining Association is the primary lobby for Minnesota’s iron mining industry. Member companies, including major Iron Range taconite producers, pay…
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Gonzo iron ore price surge confuses market
Just over three weeks ago, global iron ore prices were trudging along in the doldrums just as they had since last year. Below $50/ton, iron ore costs more to mine here on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range than it’s worth. In simplest terms, that’s why this region’s mines have struggled since the spring of 2015. As 2016 began there was talk of…
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Iron Range jobless woes hit St. Paul gridlock
The Minnesota legislature prepares to convene Tuesday for a shorter-than-usual 2016 session. Lawmakers will travel to the capitol for three months of deal-making and not-so-subtle electioneering. Here on Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range, many families are preparing for a very different sort of spring. A sharp downturn in the iron ore mining business led to almost 2,000 mine layoffs last year.…
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State approves PolyMet environmental review
Never has the word “adequate” been such a hot topic. Today, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced that the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed PolyMet mine near Hoyt Lakes was adequate. “The environmental review process is about describing the potential environmental effects of the proposed NorthMet project,” said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr…
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Magnetation coming back, but Plant 1 in doubt
Like other Iron Range mining operations, Grand Rapids-based Magnetation was battered by the collapse in iron ore pricing and domestic steel demand last year. The homegrown Northern Minnesota company declared bankruptcy and lost ownership interest to a hedge fund amid financial restructuring. In 2014, Magnetation had four plants running, salvaging old mining waste from decades earlier and extracting…
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Thunderbirds vs. Lumberjacks, mythical feud
Tonight at 8 p.m., the Grand Rapids Thunderhawks will play the Bemidji Lumberjacks in the Minnesota Class AA State Hockey Tournament in St. Paul. Hockey is a big deal in Minnesota. It’s a cherished winter tradition and the source of a historic rivalry between the Northern and Southern portions of the state. (Or perhaps more…
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Key PolyMet environmental report expected Thursday
On Thursday, March 3, state regulators will issue its ruling on the Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine near Hoyt Lakes. This will be the culmination of at least seven years of debate over the EIS. The controversy centers on whether the development company is accurately reflecting the environmental risk of this form of…