Cliffs said 630 employees will be laid off in 60 days. A state senator said the company has excess pellets, and the auto industry, which uses Cliffs steel, faces "challenging economic conditions."
Watermark Art Center will hold an Artist Reception for Aaron Squadroni at the opening of his exhibit "The Rhythm of the Hill Annex Mine" from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 10, at Watermark.
Five state lawmakers wrote in a letter to the DNR last week urging the agency should exchange the school trust land in the BWCAW for an equal amount of federal land outside the wilderness.
Pulsar Helium, which confirmed some of the highest concentrations of helium on the continent at a well on private land, is now eyeing state leases, too.
Last year, the DNR recommended the Minnesota Legislature consider whether four practices 鈥� tailings storage, reactive waste rock, smelting and heap leaching 鈥� were safe if carried out near the BWCAW.
U.S. Steel's 1901 founding transformed the Iron Range, and the iconic Pittsburgh-based company still employs 1,800 people at its iron ore mines and pellet plants in Keewatin and Mountain Iron.
The helium source was discovered in 2011 by a drill team looking for copper and nickel. If its 10.5% helium content is confirmed, it would be North America鈥檚 second-highest concentration of helium.
