|
In addition to several thousand
gorgeous lakes, Minnesota is home to a "natural
wonder" that's actually human engineered.
Sometimes called the "Grand Canyon of the
North," the Hull Rust Mine is the biggest
open pit iron ore mine in operation in the world.
At the present time, it is more than three miles
long, two miles wide, and nearly 540 feet deep.
It's operated by the Hibbing Taconite Company.
Taconite is low-grade iron ore and explanation
about how the ore is being processed is
online here.
There are varying estimates
about how much rock and ore have been removed
from this mine since it started operations in
1895, but it's somewhere around 2 billion tons.
This is equivalent to the amount of earth you'd
have to move if you dug a tunnel 24 feet in
diameter through the entire earth. Originally,
there were 30 separate mines, but these were
consolidated into a single operation at the
turn of the century. By 1901, this facility
was managed by J.P. Morgan, and during the peak
production period in the early 1940s, nearly
a quarter of all iron ore mined in the United
States came from the Hull Rust Mine.
Today, visitors can take tours
into the mine area and view a variety of mining
equipment exhibits.
More
information about the mine's history
Mine
tour information
Location:
Hull Rust Mahoning Mine
401 Penobscot Rd
Hibbing, MN 55746
[Map]
Photographed by
Rod Ness 8/4/07
Posted on RoadTrip America 1/08
|
