Northshore Mine, Minnesota

The easternmost of the active large pit operations over the Iron Range, is the Northshore Mine. Unlike the other half dozen or so taconite mining operations in the region, which process the taconite near the mine, then ship it to the port at Duluth, by rail, the Northshore mine ships the ore from the mine to its plant at Silver Bay, on the north shore of Lake Superior, by rail 47 miles away. The operation, which started in 1955, is owned by Cleveland Cliffs, and it employs around 520 people at its mine and plant.