My latest column for the Minnesota Reformer is out today. Let’s call it a Labor Day think piece. Northern Minnesota has been a wellspring of the American labor movement for more than a century. However, in more recent years, organized labor has shifted into the role of mature old power, increasingly wedded to politics and… Read More →
Cleveland Cliffs resets the Mesabi Iron Range
October 4, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Before March 2, 1901 northern Minnesota served as a battleground for two immutable titans of industry, Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. At stake was control of the world’s richest untapped source of iron ore and the nation-building steel it could produce. The scene grew chaotic with new mines opening, closing, and changing hands all… Read More →
Cleveland Cliffs acquires ArcelorMittal USA
September 27, 2020 by 2 Comments
Cleveland Cliffs becomes North America’s largest producer of iron ore and flat-rolled steel after acquiring the assets of ArcelorMittal USA. Reuters reported over the weekend that ArcelorMittal and Cleveland Cliffs were negotiating an asset merger that would dramatically affect the taconite industry on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range. The deal merges ArcelorMittal’s American operations with those… Read More →
Cleveland Cliffs idles Northshore Mine until Aug. 15
April 13, 2020 by 1 Comment
Cleveland Cliffs announced today it would idle its Northshore Mining operations in Babbitt and Silver Bay until at least Aug. 15. This becomes the first mine shutdown announced since the economic recession caused by COVID-19. Cliffs will also shutter its Tilden Mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Cliffs recently completed its takeover of AK Steel, but… Read More →
Cleveland Cliffs acquires AK Steel
December 3, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Iron ore producer Cleveland Cliffs acquired AK Steel in a deal announced today. It’s a seismic transaction that could have long-term implications for the Mesabi Iron Range. Cliffs will use its stock to buy $1.1 billion worth of AK Steel stock, assuming about 68 percent ownership of the Ohio-based company. Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves will… Read More →
United Steelworkers to rally Thursday over contract talks
August 29, 2018 by Leave a Comment
On Thursday, Aug. 30, members and supporters of the United Steelworkers will hold rallies and demonstrations across the Mesabi Iron Range. They seek to bring attention to the union’s ongoing impasse with major steelmakers over a new labor contract. This story highlights a critical moment in the economic recovery that reached the Iron Range in 2016,… Read More →
Iron innovation most vital mining challenge for Mesabi Range
January 8, 2018 by 2 Comments
I know, there’s plenty we could talk about regarding controversial copper-nickel mining projects in Northern Minnesota. PolyMet has a draft permit to mine. Ely’s Twin Metals got a symbolic boost from the Trump Administration. Persistent and largely meaningless slap fights between mining advocates and skeptics color the pages of the local press. But the truth… Read More →
‘Holy’ Miles Lord echoes through Minnesota history
December 10, 2017 by Leave a Comment
To some, judges are supposed to stay hidden in the chambers of Minnesota law, better forgotten than seen or heard. But we learn about one judge who relished the spotlight and used it well in “Miles Lord: The Maverick Judge Who Brought Corporate America to Justice.” This new book from the University of Minnesota Press comes… Read More →
What’s in a name? Cleveland-Cliffs is back
August 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Cliffs Natural Resources is now Cleveland-Cliffs. That means that the grand old man of American iron mining now wears his old duds. Lourenco Goncalves , Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The historical name Cleveland-Cliffs is synonymous with our strong heritage, and is the perfect one for our next era of growth. As we did… Read More →
Northshore Mining back to work early
May 6, 2016 by 8 Comments
Northshore Mining has called back workers early to reopen production of taconite at its Babbitt Mine and Silver Bay processing facility. The mine had previously announced it would reopen in mid- to late-May, but is ahead of schedule. WDIO reported on the news when U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) made the announcement after a tour of… Read More →
