Mining Features

From tiny pellets, MIGHTY MARVELS are made

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In a PBS NewsHour interview from August 15, 2014, titled “How the Panama Canal helped make the U.S. a world power,” I found the following section of dialogue by Ovidio Diaz-Espino, one of several regional experts interviewed by PBS NewsHour to discuss the canal’s first 100 years: “The construction [of the Panama Canal] itself was so significant that at one […]

Women are part of a new generation of mining leadership

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Women have worked in northern Minnesota’s iron ore and taconite mines for a long time. During World War II, women began working in the mines to take the place of men who had entered the military; in 1945, the St. Louis County inspector of mines recorded 8,500 men working in the mines—and 163 women. The women worked at all the […]

Kuuma stoves by Lamppa Manufacturing

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Tower company is running hot with American-made steel


TOWER – “Kuuma” in Finnish means “hot.” And that pretty much describes the market for the solidly-built wood-fired sauna stoves and furnaces built at Lamppa Manufacturing in Tower. The company, which uses American made mild and stainless steel, has grown in both size and reputation since Richard and his son Herbert Lamppa started turning old barrels into sauna stoves in […]

PolyMet closes NewRange Copper Nickel venture with Teck Resources

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HOYT LAKES – PolyMet Mining Corp. last week announced the closing of its previously announced joint venture with Teck American Inc., a subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited (“Teck”). The joint venture will be named NewRange Copper Nickel LLC (“NewRange Copper Nickel”). As previously announced, under the terms of the transaction, the North- Met and Mesaba deposits containing high-demand copper, nickel, […]

Cleveland-Cliffs set to reopen Northshore Mining

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BABBITT/SILVER BAY – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) released the statement below on Monday following news that Cleveland-Cliffs is reopening Northshore Mining. “After meeting with miners impacted by the Silver Bay plant and Babbitt mine idling, working with local northern Minnesota legislators to push for the extension of state unemployment benefits, and most recently, meeting in Washington with Cleveland-Cliffs CEO […]

U.S. Steel announces supply agreement with GM for U.S.- sourced sustainable verdeX ® steel

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United States Steel Corporation announced on February 14, that it will supply General Motors (GM) with its advanced and sustainable steel solution called verdeX® steel. The steel is manufactured with up to 75 percent fewer emissions compared to traditional blast furnace production, is made with up to 90 percent recycled content and is endlessly recyclable without degradation. U. S. Steel’s […]

Iron ore is principal contributor to value of metal mine production

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USGS: Nonfuel mineral production jumps $3.6 billion

U.S. mines produced approximately $98.2 billion in nonfuel mineral commodities in 2022—an estimated $3.6 billion increase over the 2021 revised total of $94.6 billion—the U.S. Geological Survey announced today. This information comes from the 28th annual USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries report, released January 31, 2023, by the USGS National Minerals Information Center. The report is a comprehensive source for estimates […]

Iron(Fe) is required…

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FOR ELECTRICITY: Mining makes powering the world possible. Iron and copper are needed for production and transmission of electricity. Iron is also needed for halogen lighting. TO PROCESS FOOD: Mining makes the preservation of food possible. Iron is used in the machinery used to process and manufacture food. FOR APPLIANCES: Mining makes the products that make every day possible. Iron […]

$5 million funding from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

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USGS makes grants available for mine waste research

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is soliciting proposals for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 grants to collect data on mine waste. This new competitive program is supported by investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). Interested state geological surveys can apply online at grants.gov under funding Opportunity Number G23AS00160. Applications are due by […]

The 2022 season at the Port of Duluth-Superior

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Summary: Finishing with a flourish, especially iron ore

TWIN PORTS – Despite its biggest January throughput since 2010 (1.34 million short tons), total maritime tonnage for the Port of Duluth-Superior finished the 2022 navigation season down 7.6 percent compared to 2021 and down 7 percent against the five-season average. Some 30.4 million short tons of cargo transited the port this season, including nearly 19 million tons of iron […]


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