One of the largest taconite mines in Minnesota’s Iron Range — and the first to use a new sustainable technology — is nearing completion, and Hibbing Local 294 members are powering it all.
“This is where some of the richest ore that’s left can be found,” Local 294 Business Manager Dan Hendrickson said. “It’s a huge boom for the Iron Range.”
The Mesabi Metallics mine project, decades in the making, comes with a price tag almost as enormous as the site. The company has invested roughly $2 billion into the 16,000-acre site, but that could go up to about $7 billion by the time it’s complete, Sixth District International Representative John Bzdawka said. And it’s all being done under a project labor agreement.
“For Local 294, it’s gigantic,” Hendrickson said. “It will keep our members employed for years, in construction as well as maintenance.”
IBEW signatory Amptek Inc. has been building and commissioning mining projects and mineral processing facilities since the company started 15 years ago. This project is the largest in the region in decades, Amptek President Lance Johnson said.
“The scale of this project, and its footprint with so many large processing buildings, along with the power needed to operate, is impressive,” Johnson said, but he and his crew are up for the challenge.
“Working on industrial projects that have a design assist component with large power needs, as well as process controls, makes for a challenging and satisfying project to be a part of,” Johnson said.
It’s hard to overstate the sheer size of the project, Hendrickson said, noting that 400-ton trucks are on their way to the site. The tires alone have a 13-foot diameter, and the 50-yard shovel takes almost 100 semitrucks to deliver. Among the largest in the world, the trucks will be the first ever at their size to be used in Minnesota.
“It doesn’t make sense until you’re standing in front of it,” Hendrickson said. “It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie.”
About 400 construction workers, including just over 50 Local 294 members, were on site in the summer, with work expected to ramp up in the fall. Once it’s operational, the mine will support close to 400 permanent jobs, with hundreds more spinoff jobs expected.
IBEW members are handling all aspects of the electrical work: power distribution, motor controller installation and commissioning, raceway installation, underground duct bank installation, and lighting. Members are also responsible for overhead crane installation and commissioning, instrumentation installation and commissioning, design assist for mining substation construction, and site construction power needs.
Mesabi Metallics will be the first facility in the Iron Range to primarily produce direct reduction-grade pellets to be sold to producers of green steel, a sustainable method of manufacturing steel without the use of fossil fuels.
“That is extremely important to a lot of people who reside in this region,” said Amptek Superintendent Jim McCarter, who has been on the project since December 2023.
The nearby town of Nashwauk, with a population of about 1,000, also stands to benefit, McCarter said.
“This project will allow journeymen and journeywomen to keep working in the area and be home with their families,” McCarter said. “Since I’ve been onsite, I have personally come to know many people who have moved into the area for this opportunity.”
In addition to the PLA on the project, Mesabi is also paying everyone one month in advance.
“PLAs are common in the region, but paying everyone upfront, you don’t see that at all,” Hendrickson said.
The project is roughly 80% complete, and that’s largely in thanks to union labor, Mesabi Metallics President and CEO Joe Broking said.
“We believe projects of this scale and significance benefit tremendously when they are built by union labor,” Broking said. “Union workers’ expertise ensures quality. Their safety standards are unmatched. And their communities — right here in Minnesota — should be the first to benefit from this investment.”
