In July 2015, the 42 employees of Minnesota Power’s Taconite Harbor Energy Center in Schroeder learned that the power plant would be idled in the fall of 2016. Now the approximately 500 employees at the Cliffs Natural Resources’ Northshore Mining operations at Silver Bay and Babbitt are facing layoffs effective December 1, 2015.
Although Northshore Mining is in Lake County, residents of Cook County feel a connection to the Silver Bay plant, one of the largest employers on the North Shore. Many former Cook County residents have found employment at the Silver Bay plant, which was the first taconite processing facility in North America in 1956, operated then by Reserve Mining Company. The facility has changed ownership a number of times, to Cyprus Minerals in 1989 and finally Cliffs Natural Resources became the sole owner in 1994.
An economic ripple from the idling may occur in Cook County as well, as Northshore Mining workers and their families visit Cook County to shop, dine and attend community events. Plant employees have spouses who work in adjacent communities and children who attend school in Tofte.
According to Cliffs Natural Resources management, the idling is due primarily to the import of foreign steel. In a news release, Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs’ chairman, president and chief executive officer, stated, “The historic high tonnage of foreign steel dumped into the U.S. continues to negatively impact the steel production levels of our domestic customers.”
Goncalves said the company’s iron ore pellet inventory is adequate to meet current customer demand.
Goncalves added that it is hoped the resolution of trade cases currently filed by domestic steelmakers against several countries that cover a broad range of steel products will bring a positive impact to the domestic market sometime during the first half of 2016.
“As soon as the unfairly traded steel problem subsides and domestic steel production recovers to normal levels, we will be able to immediately ramp up iron ore pellet production by bringing idled capacity back to operation,” he said.
Cliffs anticipates that both Northshore and the company’s United Taconite operations will be idled through the first quarter of 2016. Cliffs will maintain minimal staffing during the temporary idle for basic maintenance duties and for ongoing work.
Cliffs will continue to operate Hibbing Taconite in Minnesota, as well as the Tilden and Empire mines in Michigan, at normal rates. The company will assess and adjust its production plans as market conditions improve.
Northshore Mining produces iron ore pellets to make steel, which is used in the production of vehicles, appliances, airplanes and military equipment in the United States. The ore is mined in Babbitt and transported 47 miles by rail to Silver Bay. Northshore has the capacity to produce and ship about six million iron ore pellets annually from its harbor on Lake Superior.
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