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The Soudan hematite was used in the open hearth furnace, where the density of the ore, called
Vermilion Lump, was needed to break through the floating slag to cause the molten charge to roil and burn off the impurities. When the newer blast furnaces came into use, the expensive Vermilion Lump was no
125:. This method produced a processed ore product at a significantly reduced cost. Once proven successful, the technical change resulted in Minnesota's iron industry centering on the Mesabi Range, where the taconite was much easier to access.
94:, produced 70 million metric tons from the Chandler, Pioneer, Zenith, Sibley and Savoy mines. The largest mine in the range, Soudan, was closed in 1962, and the last mine in the Ely area closed in 1964.
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were discovered, the use of this high-quality ore was abandoned due to its more costly mining expense.
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Ground and
Surface Water in the Mesabi and Vermilion Iron Range Area Northeastern Minnesota
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longer needed. New processes were developed to extract the iron from the taconite by using
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and hematite. Eleven mines operated in the range, with five in the Ely area. The Ely
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United States Patent 2,806,775 Charging Ore and the Like and its
Preparation
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ore was so pure that two pieces could be welded. The bedrock, known as
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mine, the ore obtained was worth the effort; the quality of the
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R. D. Cotter, H. L. Young, L. R. Petri, and C. H. Prior,
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was nearly 1/2 mile underground and required blasting of
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in the range consists of a "interbedded sequence" of
209:Richard W. Ojakangas; Charles L. Matsch (1982).
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217:. University of Minnesota Press. pp.
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39:, and contains significant deposits of
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145:Soudan Underground Mine State Park
55:ranges, these four constitute the
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16:Iron ore deposit in Minnesota
281:Minnesota Historical Society
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23:Lake Superior Iron Ranges
193:"Notes from Underground"
121:and producing taconite
69:Precambrian sedimentary
259:Richard W. Ojakangas,
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265:, PP 126–127, 179–181
76:banded iron formation
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328:Geology of Minnesota
170:Geology of Minnesota
165:Marquette Iron Range
43:. Together with the
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262:Minnesota's Geology
213:Minnesota's Geology
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333:Iron ore deposits
304:47.850°N 92.067°W
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245:Further reading
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119:open-pit mining
31:exists between
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59:of northern
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65:Soudan mine
57:Iron Ranges
322:Categories
228:0816609535
176:References
197:Ferminews
84:magnetite
71:bedrock.
61:Minnesota
129:See also
107:taconite
103:hematite
49:Gunflint
41:iron ore
292:47°51′N
123:pellets
295:92°4′W
276:Mn DNR
256:, 1759
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221:–130.
99:Soudan
88:Trough
53:Cuyuna
51:, and
45:Mesabi
111:steel
80:chert
223:ISBN
90:, a
74:The
35:and
27:The
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