In Response: Set the record straight about the industry that shaped our region

In the more than 50 years of our combined experience working in Minnesota’s iron-mining industry, we have seen a lot — and we have lived Minnesota’s iron-mining truth.

That is why after reading the April 4 commentary in the News Tribune by the Tamarack Water Alliance’s Lynn Anderson (Local View: “ Get facts straight on mining to protect Minnesota’s clean waters ”), we felt compelled to set the record straight.

We are immensely proud of our industry’s economic impact, environmental performance, and contributions to the community. It’s important readers of the News Tribune know the positive things happening with Minnesota’s iron-mining industry and the nearly 4,000 employees who work in it.

Anderson claimed, “Mining is only a small percentage of the economy.”

“Small” is a relative term, so let us provide some context: According to a June 2020 report from the University of Minnesota Duluth , the mining industry directly contributes more than $2 billion per year to the economy of the Arrowhead Region. U.S. Steel alone makes $911.9 million in direct impact and $865.4 million in indirect impact to the economy annually. The industry contributes almost 9,000 jobs to the Iron Range, including nearly 4,000 direct and 4,960 indirect jobs. The UMD report projects that in 2024 our industry will contribute nearly $790 million in wages and $3.29 billion in output to the region’s economy. These are not small numbers.

Anderson additionally wrote, “What is needed is a declaration that Minnesota is a ‘clean-water state’.”

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency rates the Iron Range’s water quality as the best in the state. In a region full of outdoors enthusiasts who love to boat and fish, we take great pride in this. Iron mining occurs in some of Minnesota’s most valued and pristine environmental areas, and the people who live and work in this industry want to keep it that way. Reclaimed mines are some of the Iron Range’s most popular recreational destinations, including Miner’s Lake and Redhead Mountain Bike Park. We are proud that both the iron-mining industry and the lakes in our region are thriving.

A third claim made in the column was that, “The EPA has identified taconite iron ore processing as a major source of air toxics.”

This is precisely the opposite of what is stated in a 2019 EPA report on taconite mining. The report in the Federal Register states that the industry’s emissions performance is “acceptable and that the existing standards provide an ample margin of safety. Furthermore, under the technology review, the EPA identified no cost-effective developments in controls, practices, or processes to achieve further emissions reductions.”

U.S. Steel’s Minnesota ore operations has invested more than $80 million in environmental expenditures in the last five years. Production of DR-grade pellets at U.S. Steel’s Keetac facility (opening soon!) will contribute to U.S. Steel’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The facility will enable iron units from the Iron Range to ultimately be used in an electric arc furnace, which emits less carbon per ton than a traditional blast furnace. We have eight electric shovels at Minntac and a 25-megawatt wind energy center on our land.

These are facts. Our industry started more than 140 years ago, and we keep getting better. Through the hard work and innovation of our second-, third-, and even fourth-generation miners, Minnesota’s mining industry is a critical contributor to our state and our economy.

We are eternally committed to mining responsibly, being an economic engine for Minnesota, and preserving the pristine outdoors on the Iron Range.

John Arbogast of Virginia, Minnesota, is staff representative for United Steelworkers District 11. Mike Bakk of Mountain Iron is director of operational readiness for U.S. Steel. They are co-chairs of the Iron Ore Alliance.