Magnetation: Minnesota won't get taconite pellet plant

An iron mining company confirms Minnesota is out of contention for a major taconite pellet operation. Magnetation had been considering Itasca County but is now focused on sites in Indiana and Wisconsin. Earlier this year Magnetation officials said Minnesota’s pollution regulations are too strict to make the plant profitable.

Author:
BMTN Staff
Updated:
Mar 8, 2018
Original:
Jun 8, 2012

An iron mining company confirms Minnesota is out of contention for a major taconite pellet operation. Magnetation had been considering Itasca County but is now focused on sites in Indiana and Wisconsin. Earlier this year Magnetation officials said Minnesota’s pollution regulations are too strict to make the plant profitable.

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Instead of waiving some environmental reviews, state lawmakers will offer to speed them up in hopes of luring Magnetation's iron pellet plant to northern Minnesota. The company is looking at building the plant in Wisconsin or Indiana to avoid a permitting process it considers strict and cumbersome.

The company says Minnesota's strict pollution rules are forcing it to look beyond the state for a possible site for a new iron ore plant. State officials tell the Duluth News Tribune they're upset Magnetation executives would consider such a thing after the state gave them $1 million in taxpayer money.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency approved water quality permits needed for the expansion of the U.S. Steel plant. The $300 million expansion is estimated to create 500 construction jobs followed by 120 permanent jobs.

Output at the half-dozen taconite plants in the state is up more than ten percent compared to a year ago. And the forecast for next year suggests production could be the highest in more than a decade.

The United Steelworkers of America represent workers at most of the taconite plants on Minnesota's Iron Range. But employees of the Mesabi Nugget plant near Aurora overwhelmingly rejected the union. An organizer for the union even calls the vote "a little embarrassing."

A roadside attraction north of the Twin Cities is a dandy little statue with the name Mr. Taconite, a symbol of a mid-50s technology that converts low-grade taconite rock into concentrated iron pellets. Where is Mr. Taconite's home? A) Virginia, Minn. B) Silver Bay, Minn. C) Hibbing, Minn. For the answer, click on the headline above...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is imposing new air pollution regulations for the taconite industry in northern Minnesota that go beyond state regulations. The Duluth News Tribune reports the new federal rules require plants to install technology to reduce smokestack emissions that cause haze and lung ailments.

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