Whats the big deal?
Big deal, two ore trains at Proctor... whats the big deal? Unless you have been living under a rock, you'll know that the glut of cheap foreign steel has decimated the Iron Range of Minnesota. Out of 7 taconite plants, only Minntac, Minorca, and Hibbing Taconite are running at anywhere near full capacity. Northshore Mining, United Taconite (including the Thunderbird Mine) and Keewatin Taconite have not seen a train in months. This has left Proctor dead quiet. For a period in late 2015, Proctor, headquarters of the mighty DM&IR Railway, did not receive a single ore train. Many nights in December, the lights on the ore docks in Duluth would be completely extinguished, something I had never seen before. Two Harbors was handling around 5 trains of Minntac and Minorca pellets a day, and that was sufficient to keep up with demand. Minntac recently started sending one train a day to Proctor, and while our trusty government attempts to slow foreign steel, the once mighty hub of US steel production slowly begins to hum again. With a train on the dock, and two here at the scales, it is a VERY welcome sight to those who depend on iron ore for their livelihood.
Whats the big deal?
Big deal, two ore trains at Proctor... whats the big deal? Unless you have been living under a rock, you'll know that the glut of cheap foreign steel has decimated the Iron Range of Minnesota. Out of 7 taconite plants, only Minntac, Minorca, and Hibbing Taconite are running at anywhere near full capacity. Northshore Mining, United Taconite (including the Thunderbird Mine) and Keewatin Taconite have not seen a train in months. This has left Proctor dead quiet. For a period in late 2015, Proctor, headquarters of the mighty DM&IR Railway, did not receive a single ore train. Many nights in December, the lights on the ore docks in Duluth would be completely extinguished, something I had never seen before. Two Harbors was handling around 5 trains of Minntac and Minorca pellets a day, and that was sufficient to keep up with demand. Minntac recently started sending one train a day to Proctor, and while our trusty government attempts to slow foreign steel, the once mighty hub of US steel production slowly begins to hum again. With a train on the dock, and two here at the scales, it is a VERY welcome sight to those who depend on iron ore for their livelihood.