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Business North - The Daily Briefing - Business Newspaper Online
U.S. Steel delays Keetac restart
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10/20/2009 by Beth Bily |
(updated at 3 p.m. Oct 20)
A setback in the iron mining industry surfaced today Oct. 20, just 24 hours after the release of regional unemployment figures painting a brighter economic outlook.
Workers at Keewatin Taconite (Keetac) in Keewatin, MN, learned Oct. 19 a restart of operations is on hold. Steelworkers Local 2660 President Jack Thronson said today owner U.S. Steel Corp. provided no reason for the delay. He said workers recalled over the past month instead will begin winterizing the plant. Thronson said the owner provided no estimate when production would resume.
U. S. Steel spokeswoman Erin DiPietro said the company adjusts production to match market demand, but does not provide advance operational updates.
Meanwhile, some industry watchers speculate softening demand for iron ore and steel drove the company’s decision. “I believe the fourth quarter in the steel and pellet industry is going bad again,” said state Rep. Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam. His legislative district includes the Keewatin mine and pellet plant.
U.S. Steel shut down the operation in December 2008. Last year Keetac and its 400 hourly and salaried employees produced 5.1 million long-tons (2,240 pounds) of iron ore pellets.
About 215 of those workers were recalled over the last month, preparing for a restart, Thronson said.
Michigan State University iron mining analyst Peter Kakela said he was unsure why Keetac’s owner delayed the reopening. “I’d been hoping that a recovery was starting to creep back. There were some positive signs,” he said.
Other iron ore operations in Northeastern Minnesota had been resuming after a near shutdown of the industry during the first half of 2009. The Minnesota Department of Revenue recently upgraded 2009 production estimates from 15.5 to 17 million tons
That’s less than half the collective output of the northeast region’s six taconite producers in recent years.
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