Northshore Mining Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cliffs who acquired Northshore in 1994.
Summary:
Northshore operations consist of an open pit truck and shovel mine where two stages of crushing occur before the ore is transported along a wholly owned 47-mile rail line to the plant site in Silver Bay.
Processing Technologies
- Magnetic separation
- Rotary kiln & Electric furnace
Summary:
At the plant site, two additional stages of crushing occur before the ore is sent to the concentrator. The concentrator utilizes rod mills and magnetic separation to produce a magnetite concentrate, which is delivered to the pellet plant located on-site. The plant site has its own ship loading port located on Lake Superior.
Recoveries & Grades:
| Commodity | Parameter | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|
Iron Ore
|
Recovery Rate, %
| 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 34 |
Production:
| Commodity | Units | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|
Iron Ore
|
M long tons
| ......  | ...... | ...... | 4.3 | 5.2 |
All production numbers are expressed as pellets.
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Operational Metrics:
| Metrics | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|
Annual production capacity
| ...... | ...... | 6 M long tons of iron ore pellets | 6 M long tons of iron ore pellets | 6 M long tons of iron ore pellets |
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Reserves at December 31, 2018:
| Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade |
|
Proven
|
299.5 M long tons
|
Iron (magnetite)
|
25.3 %
|
|
Probable
|
535.6 M long tons
|
Iron (magnetite)
|
23.7 %
|
|
Proven & Probable
|
835.1 M long tons
|
Iron (magnetite)
|
24.3 %
|
Aerial view:
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