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Although the bog iron ores mined in colonial days were widespread, the deposits were also small, and quickly exhausted. In the late 1700s the iron furnaces moved away from the bog iron ore of the coastal swamps, to larger iron ore deposits further inland. Inland locations also allowed the furnaces to
134:
Although in 2014, the US mined only 1.8 percent of all iron ore mined worldwide, the US was previously a much larger factor in the world iron ore market. From 1937 through 1953, US iron ore made up more than a third of the world's iron ore production; the proportion of world iron ore mined in the US
64:
deposits around Lake
Superior, in Minnesota and Michigan; such deposits were also formerly mined in Wisconsin. For the past 50 years, more than 90 percent of US iron ore production has been mined from the Lake Superior deposits. None of the iron ore now mined in the US is “direct shipping” ore ready
285:
Prior to the start of iron mining on the Lake
Superior iron ranges, US iron mining was done close to the iron furnaces. The large size of the Lake Superior deposits, and the access to cheap Great Lakes water transportation, enabled iron mining on a massive scale, located far from the iron furnaces.
237:
replaced charcoal as the fuel and reducing agent in iron furnaces. Coke has a higher crushing strength than charcoal, allowing larger smelting furnaces. Because iron and steel-making at the time consumed more coal than iron ore, the steel mills moved closer to the coal mines to minimize
286:
The Lake
Superior iron ores, however, are located far from coal deposits, and the greater tonnage of coal required in steelmaking favored the location of furnaces closer to the coal mines. Favorable locations for steelworks using Lake Superior ore included Great Lakes ports such as
81:
Minnesota provides the great bulk of the iron ore mined in the US. Iron ore comes from seven open-pit mines, and two tailings reclamation operations, one in St. Louis County, and one in Itasca County. Three of the mines are operated by
Cleveland Cliffs, two by
114:. The mine shut down in October 2014. Operated by CML Metals, Inc. the mine produced ore with 54% iron. The ore was treated onsite, producing a concentrate containing 65% iron. The concentrate was transported by rail to California, then shipped to China.
130:
In common with other commodities, the history of iron mining in the United States includes a shift to larger but lower-grade ore deposits, a shift from underground to open-pit mining, and a shift from labor-intensive mining to highly mechanized mining.
258:
provided cheap water transportation between the iron mines to the lower Great Lakes. The Lake
Superior iron deposits were the largest ever discovered in the United States, and by the late 1800s, dominated American iron mining.
54:. Net exports (exports minus imports) were 3.9 million tons. US iron ore made up 2.5 percent of the total mined worldwide in 2015. Employment as of 2014 was 5,750 in iron mines and iron ore treatment plants.
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transportation costs. Although later overshadowed by production from the Lake
Superior mines, iron ore mining in New Jersey and New York continued until the 1960s. Iron mining in Pennsylvania ended in 1973.
73:
38:
in 2019. Iron ore was the third-highest-value metal mined in the United States, after gold and copper. Iron ore was mined from nine active mines and three reclamation operations in
313:
In the 1950s, the Lake
Superior mines were running out of the high-grade “direct-shipping” ore. Experiments in concentrating the ores had been ongoing since the 1915. In 1954 the
110:
The only recently operating iron mine in the US outside the Lake
Superior area was the Iron Mountain mine, formerly called the Comstock-Mountain Lion mine, west of Cedar City, in
178:, of which American forests could provide a seemingly endless supply. Numerous small iron mines supplied iron furnaces scattered throughout the colonies in the 1700s.
65:
to be fed into the iron- and steel-making process. The ore is concentrated to raise the iron content before use. All the iron ore currently mined is from open pits.
344:
Through 1965, the Lake
Superior iron ranges had produced 3.66 billion tons of ore, about 70 percent of which came from the Mesabi Range. Totals through 1965 were:
203:
be closer to sources of limestone, which was used as a flux in iron smelting. The proximity to larger ore deposits favored larger, more permanent iron smelters.
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270:, in long, linear belts called iron ranges. After the Marquette Range in Michigan, iron ore was discovered in the Menominee Range (Michigan) in 1867, the
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410:
630:
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Iron ore was discovered on the
Marquette Range in 1844, and mining started in 1848. Mining increased after the opening of the ship canal at
657:
86:, and one each by Mesabi Nugget Delaware LLC and Arcelor Mittal S.A. The two reclamation projects are operated by Magnetation, Inc.
167:, which started making iron in 1644, but closed when it ran out of nearby ore in 1647. A more successful effort was established at
102:. In 2014, the two mines produced 12.1 million tons of pelletized iron ore concentrate. In 2016 the Empire Mine was shut down.
480:
226:, the largest iron-producer in Pennsylvania, began mining in 1740. The Adirondack district of New York began mining in 1775.
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24:
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age was first used to make iron in 1864. Production was small until 1881, when major steelmaking began in Birmingham.
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255:
310:, shipping by water halts in the winter months, and most ore is stockpiled until shipping resumes in the spring.
514:
James A. Mulholland, A History of Metals in Colonial America (University, Ala.: Univ of Alabama Press, 1981) 21.
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333:) was concentrated on a large scale. The concentrated ore is commonly formed into pellets for ease of handling.
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The St. Clair backing into the iron ore loading dock at Silver Bay, Minnesota, to take on taconite pellets
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The last iron mine shut down in 1975, after the district had produced 376 million long tons of ore.
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160:
592:
Ralph W. Marsden, "Geology of the iron ores of the Lake Superior region in the United States,"
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303:
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430:"Iron ore mine production in the United States from 2015 to 2019 (in million metric tons)*"
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302:. Although Lake Superior provides cheap shipping most of the year, from ports such as
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Thomas A. Simpson and Tunstall R. Gray, "The Birmingham red-ore district, Alabama,"
279:
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540:, Geologic Wonders of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, No. 3.
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The largest production of US iron ore outside the Great Lakes districts was the
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58:
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Iron mining in the United States began in 1608, when a ship returning from the
537:
298:, as well as cities close to coal and with good water transportation, such as
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83:
159:, but was halted when American Indians killed everyone in the establishment.
126:
Graph of usable iron ore mined in the United States 1890–2014, data from USGS
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155:. The manufacturing of iron from ore likely began in 1622, in what is now
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Iron-Ore Resources of the United States, Including Alaska and Puerto Rico
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274:(Michigan and Wisconsin) in 1884, Vermilion Range (Minnesota) in 1885,
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Processed taconite pellets as used in the steelmaking industry, with a
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18:
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John S.Brown, "Ore deposits of the northeastern United States,"
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district. Sedimentary iron ore in the Red Mountain formation of
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47:
617:(New York:American Institute of Mining Engineers, 1970) 188.
600:(New York:American Institute of Mining Engineers, 1970) 493.
557:(New York:American Institute of Mining Engineers, 1970) 2–4.
98:: the Tilden Mine, and the Empire Mine, both operated by
50:. Most of the iron ore was mined in northern Minnesota's
492:
US Geological Survey, Iron Ore in April 2015, July 2015.
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Most US iron mining before 1850 took place in eastern
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Michigan iron ore came from two active mines on the
570:, US Geological Survey, Bulletin 1082-C, p.66-67.
218:. New Jersey's principal iron ore district, at
505:, Utah Geological Survey, Circular 118, 2014.
325:) began to be concentrated, and in 1956, the
8:
615:Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933–1967
598:Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933–1967
555:Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933–1967
527:(Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1957) 22.
406:Iron and steel industry in the United States
16:Overview of iron mining in the United States
174:Iron production in the 1700s was done with
523:Norman J. G. Pounds and William N Parker,
457:, Mineral Commodity Summary, January 2016.
566:Martha S. Carr and Carl E. Dutton, 1959,
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628:Minerals in the economy of Alabama 2007
421:
411:List of iron mines in the United States
57:US iron ore mining is dominated by the
151:carried a load of iron ore back to
7:
503:Utah’s extractive industries in 2013
34:produced 48 million metric tons of
27:(0.96 in./24.3 mm) shown for scale.
637:, Alabama Geological Survey, 2008.
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363:Menominee Range 290 million tons
353:Marquette Range 339 million tons
190:and Virginia set up to export to
525:Coal and Steel in Western Europe
348:Mesabi Range 2,511 million tons
32:Iron mining in the United States
358:Gogebic Range 323 million tons
266:iron ores occur in Precambrian
163:established an iron furnace at
583:(Chicago: Aldine, 1963) 79–80.
376:Cuyuna Range 100 million tons
340:Cliffs Mine on Marquette Range
186:fed numerous iron furnaces in
135:peaked in 1945 at 56 percent.
1:
278:(Minnesota) in 1890, and the
157:Chesterfield County, Virginia
118:History of US iron ore mining
536:US Geological Survey, 2001,
222:, began mining in 1710. The
658:Mining in the United States
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479:Cliffs Natural Resources,
501:Taylor Boden and others,
250:Lake Superior Iron Ranges
165:Braintree, Massachusetts
613:, John D. Ridge (ed.),
596:, John D. Ridge (ed.),
581:100 Years of Metallurgy
553:, John D. Ridge (ed.),
483:, accessed 9 July 2015.
466:US Geological Survey,
453:US Geological Survey,
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182:ore common around the
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282:(Minnesota) in 1903.
268:banded iron formation
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229:Starting about 1820,
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62:banded iron formation
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242:Lake Superior mining
96:Marquette Iron Range
481:Michigan operations
387:Birmingham, Alabama
381:Birmingham, Alabama
633:2015-09-24 at the
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224:Cornwall iron mine
161:John Winthrop, Jr.
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112:Iron County, Utah
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256:Sault Ste. Marie
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100:Cleveland-Cliffs
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437:. Retrieved
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280:Cuyuna Range
276:Mesabi Range
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208:Pennsylvania
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52:Mesabi Range
31:
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653:Iron mining
439:13 December
59:Precambrian
647:Categories
417:References
300:Pittsburgh
216:New Jersey
84:U.S. Steel
25:US quarter
327:magnetite
323:jaspilite
308:Marquette
292:Cleveland
69:Minnesota
44:Minnesota
631:Archived
468:Iron ore
455:Iron ore
400:See also
391:Silurian
331:taconite
315:hematite
220:Randolph
212:New York
188:Maryland
180:Bog iron
176:charcoal
149:Virginia
139:Colonial
90:Michigan
40:Michigan
36:iron ore
434:Statisa
288:Chicago
192:Britain
153:England
319:jasper
304:Duluth
294:, and
169:Saugus
46:, and
329:ore (
321:, or
317:ore (
233:from
441:2020
306:and
296:Gary
262:The
235:coal
231:coke
106:Utah
48:Utah
147:in
649::
611:in
594:in
551:in
432:.
290:,
210:,
194:.
42:,
443:.
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