Minnesota Miners Will Head Back to Work in January

Minnesota miners will be heading back to work after the United States Steel Corporation announced it has reached agreements to supply iron ore pellets to third-party customers. In a statement released Thursday, U.S. Steel said it "will adjust its iron ore pellet production in order to take full advantage of these business opportunities."

Included in the adjustments is a restart of the Keetac Plant in Keewatin, Minnesota. Employee callbacks at Keetac will begin in early January 2017, and the company anticipates production will begin in March 2017.

The Keetac Plant, which has an annual production capacity of approximately six million net tons, has been temporarily idled since May 2015 due to global influences in the market, including high levels of imported steel products, unfair trade and reduced steel prices.

U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan released the following statement regarding Keetac’s reopening:

"Keetac's reopening is wonderful news for the Iron Range. In my conversations with U.S. Steel executives, it appears that this will bring back in the neighborhood of 200 good-paying jobs to our region at its commencement. This accomplishment is the result of a team effort with the mining companies, steelworkers, the Obama Administration and those of us in Washington who have championed the cause of securing high tariffs and taxes on subpar, low-quality steel subsidized by foreign governments and dumped into our market by trade-cheater nations. These high tariffs and taxes have already shown great results for our American mining industry, and they will continue to improve market conditions over the next 5 years. After countless hours testifying before the International Trade Commission and Department of Commerce, working with the Administration, and bringing White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough to the Iron Range to see the devastating impact of steel dumping during what many have called 'the day that changed everything,' I am thrilled to see this enormous, positive step."

United States Steel Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is a leading integrated steel producer and Fortune 250 company with major operations in the United States and Central Europe.

Image via Jerry Huddleston, Flickr, used under Creative Commons