REGIONAL- Northshore Mining taconite mining and processing operations in Babbitt and Silver will stay closed until at least April 2023, as owner Cleveland-Cliffs says they’re “not needed” during an investors’ earning call Friday morning.
Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said with the increasing use of scrap at its steel making facilities, “the pellets from North Shore are not needed at this time.”
“We are extending the ongoing idle at our Northshore swing facility until at least April of next year,” Goncalves said.
The news was hard to take for Babbitt Mayor Andrea Zupancich.
"I feel like it's a blow to my gut,” she said. “Belts are going to be tightening up all over the Range. (Everyone) knows someone who works at the mine or is affected by it. You've got rising food costs, fuel costs, heating costs, property taxes all just went up. I mean, this is hard.”
House District 3A Rep. Rob Ecklund, DFL-International Falls, also reacted to the news, noting the workers are caught in the crossfire.
“Today’s news is most unwelcome for the dedicated workers who – due to no fault of their own – will continue to face uncertainty regarding when they can return to the job,” Ecklund said. “Whenever Minnesotans face economic adversity, we have the responsibility to step up and help however we can.”
Cliffs first idled Northshore on May 1 and shifted its DR-pellet production to Virginia’s Minorca Mine, resulting in the layoff of about 410 employees in both Babbitt and Silver Bay. Company officials indicated at the time that the closure could extend into spring 2023, and that was confirmed on Friday.
The company is embroiled in a royalty dispute with Mesabi Trust, which owns the mineral rights where the iron ore is mined, and Friday’s statement by Goncalves was clear the current impasse influenced his decision.
"Rather than deplete this finite resource for the benefit of the Mesabi Trust ... we'll keep Northshore idle until we decide otherwise,” he said.

Minnesota Public Radio contributed to this report. You can hear MPR news at 89.3 FM in Ely and at 92.5 FM across the Iron Range.