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Roger Skraba
State Representative Roger Skraba, R-Ely, and Senator Grant Hauschild (DFL-Hermantown ) issued statements following the news that Cleveland-Cliffs had started calling back workers to reopen the company mine in Babbitt and processing plant in Silver Bay in early April.
The Peter Mitchell mine in Babbitt and the processing plant in Silver Bay were closed because Cleveland-Cliffs said it didn’t need any more taconite pellets at the time and because the company was in a royalties dispute with Mesabi Trust.
Both operations were closed last May when around 450 workers were laid off as operations ceased.
Meabi Trust was formed under the laws in the State of New York in 1961 to “derive income” from the Peter Mitchell Iron Mine in Babbitt.
Mesabi Trust received $21 million in royalty payments from Cleveland Cliffs in the fourth quarter of 2021, which, according to Cleveland Cliffs, was too much.
In January 2023, Mesabi Trust determined that there would be no distribution of payments concerning Units of Beneficial Interest. The year before, each unit received $1.75 per unit. Less than one month later, Cleveland Cliffs announced it was bringing back its workers.
Grant Hauschild
“I am extremely happy to hear that Cleveland Cliffs has started the process of contacting workers to begin reopening their facilities in Babbitt and Silver Bay,” said Skraba. “This has been an issue that we have been working hard on during the first month and a half of the legislative session. It was great to see the strong bipartisan support for our bill to extend unemployment benefits for those that were laid off when these facilities closed last year. While the extension of these benefits was helpful and appreciated, time and time again, I heard from miners in our community that they simply wanted their jobs back. Today’s news begins that process, and I look forward to operations starting up again in early April.”
Senator Grant Hauschild (DFL — Hermantown) said, “I’m encouraged that Cleveland-Cliffs is beginning the process to reopen their facilities in Babbitt and Silver Bay,” said Sen. Hauschild. “In recent months, I’ve held several meetings with Cleveland- Cliffs to discuss the importance of reopening these plants as soon as possible. These mines and jobs are critical to our regional economy. I heard from numerous miners who were impacted by this closure who said they wanted to get back to work. While we were able to get them a bridge in unemployment insurance benefits until April with my recent bill, my primary goal has always been to reopen these two plants. I’m glad to say that we’re one step closer to making that happen.”
Earlier this year, the House and Senate approved legislation providing a $10 million extension of unemployment benefits for the roughly 450 miners laid off last May. Rep. Skraba was a co-author and the bill in the House, and Sen. Hauschild and Rep. Dave Lislegard (DFL — Aurora) which extended unemployment insurance benefits for miners who had been laid off.
Sen. Hauschild said while the bill went a long way in helping workers, his ultimate goal was to support Cleveland-Cliffs’ efforts to reopen their mining operations.
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