March 3, 2001 - Marquette Mining Journal

MARQUETTE -- Just days after a similar announcement at the Tilden, hourly workers at the Empire Mine were notified Friday that a shutdown will occur sometime this year.  “It’s just about identical to what we announced we’re going to do at the Tilden,” said Don Ryan, spokesman for Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co., which manages the Empire and Tilden mines. “The timing and duration of the shutdown have not been determined yet, but could start as early as June 3.”

Ryan said the shutdown will affect the 800 hourly workers at Empire.  He said mine officials will need to conclude how much production will be reduced this year before they can determine how long the shutdown
will be.

The Tilden is also shutting down this year for an undetermined length.  CCI officials announced Wednesday that the 680 hourly employees at the Tilden near National Mine would be affected by a similar vacation shutdown.  The union contract requires a 90-day notification for this type of shutdown, meaning the Tilden could be shut down as early as May 27, Ryan said.

The cutbacks reflect problems in the U.S. steel industry, which is complaining of unfair competition from cheap imports.  “Conditions are not good in the steel industry,” Ryan said. “This is really a result of that. These shutdowns are intended to deal with what we hope will be a temporary problem.”

The Tilden and Empire mines aren’t the only ones that have been forced to curtail production this year, Ryan said.  “Many of the mines have announced cutbacks for the year,” he said.  CCI announced in January that it intends to reduce iron ore pellet production at the Northshore Mine by 700,000 tons in 2001, or about 16
percent of the mine’s 4.3 million-ton annual capacity. CCI is the sole owner and manager of the mine in northern Minnesota.  The Minntac Mine in Mountain Iron, Minn., owned by U.S. Steel, cut production by up to 450,000 tons in January and February, a 3-percent reduction.

Federal legislation was introduced Thursday to offer aid for the iron industry, lending some hope to the situation.  Introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate Thursday, the Taconite Workers Relief Act would put iron ore producers on equal footing with the rest of the steel industry in battling illegal imports, along with providing federal financial assistance for iron ore workers whose jobs are lost because of imports.  The legislation would give the taconite industry protection status against imports by redefining it as an element of steel production equivalent to slab steel. Taconite is the small pellet of concentrated iron ore produced at mines in Michigan and Minnesota, then shipped via the Great Lakes and by rail to steel mills. 

MichiganRailroads.com  |  News Page  |  Send News Tip