Mountain Iron in Saint Louis County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
This is Magnetic Taconite
By Cosmos Mariner, June 29, 2010
1. This is Magnetic Taconite Marker
This is Magnetic Taconite — part of Minnesota's iron formation and in many ways similar to other iron-bearing materials found in the United States and throughout the world.Forty years of work in mining firms' laboratories and at the University of Minnesota developed methods for processing taconite's meager iron content into a competitive iron ore product. Thus, taconite processing plants represent new jobs for miners and new opportunities for those who supply or serve them.
New taconite plants were welcomed to Minnesota when her voters November 3, 1964, endorsed the principle of fair tax treatment for huge investments a taconite plant entails. The mining companies, in turn, responded immediately and again demonstrated their faith in the State by starting construction of new facilities which will expand taconite job-producing investments to exceed a billion dollars — the largest new industrial investment in the State.
One of Minnesota's new taconite plants will be located here at Mountain Iron, where Lon Merritt and his six iron men established the Mesabi’s first mine in 1890 and opened this area to development.
The
By Cosmos Mariner, June 29, 2010
2. This is Magnetic Taconite Marker
July 25, 1965
Erected 1965.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce.
Location. 47° 31.956′ N, 92° 37.311′ W. Marker is in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, in Saint Louis County. Marker is on Main Street (County Road 708) just east of Mountain Avenue, on the left when traveling east. Marker is located in a small plaza on the south side of the Mountain Iron Public Library. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5742 Mountain Avenue, Mountain Iron MN 55768, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 7 other markers are within 12 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Leonidas Merritt (here, next to this marker); Mountain Iron (here, next to this marker); 1910 Baldwin Locomotive (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Gunnar Peterson (approx. 3.4 miles away); Oscar Hokka Log House (approx. 3˝ miles away); John Mariucci (approx. 6.1 miles away); Paul Wellstone Memorial and Historic Site (approx. 11.8 miles away).
Also see . . .
1. Commercialization of Taconite. Though taconite was identified as an iron-bearing rock on the Iron Ranges of northern Minnesota long before the 1950s, it wasn’t until then that it was profitably extracted, processed, and shipped to steel mills on the Great Lakes. The first taconite mine was run by the Reserve Mining Company, which shipped its first load in 1955. (Submitted on September 2, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. Minntac Taconite. The Minntac Taconite Facility, owned by the United States Steel Corporation, is located near the city of Mountain Iron in central St. Louis County. Minntac began production of taconite pellets in 1967 and is the largest taconite producer in North American with an annual production of up to 15 million long tons of pellets. (Submitted on September 2, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Mesabi Range (Wikipedia). The Mesabi Iron Range is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. It has been extensively worked since 1892, and has seen a transition from high-grade direct shipping ores, to gravity concentrates, to the current industry producing exclusively iron ore (taconite) pellets. (Submitted on September 2, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 3, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 2, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 46 times since then and 2 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 2, 2020, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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