The Northshore mine is located in northeastern Minnesota, approximately two miles south of Babbitt, Minnesota, on the northeastern end of the Mesabi Iron Range.

The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota. First described in 1866, it is the chief iron ore mining district in the United States. The district is located largely in Itasca and Saint Louis counties. It has been extensively worked since 1892, and has seen a transition from high- grade direct shipping ores through gravity concentrates to the current industry exclusively producing iron ore (taconite) pellets. Production has been dominantly controlled by vertically integrated steelmakers since 1901, and therefore is dictated largely by US ironmaking capacity and demand.

There are three iron ranges in northern Minnesota, the Cuyuna, the Vermilion, and the Mesabi. Most of the world's iron ore, including that contained in northern Minnesota, was formed during the middle Precambrian. During this period, erosion leveled mountains. This erosion released iron and silica into the waters of a new sea. Marine algae living in this new sea raised the level of atmospheric oxygen. This oxygen catastrophe caused the eroded iron to precipitate into the banded iron formations found in northern Minnesota and other members of the Animikie Group. Over billions of years, geological forces left behind ore deposits of varied quality and concentrations – differences that would determine how the ore was mined from place to place. On the Mesabi Range, stretching 100 miles (160 km) from Grand Rapids to Babbitt, soft ore lay close to the surface, where it could be scooped from open pit mines.

The overall structure of the range is that of a monocline dipping 5 to 15 degrees to the southeast. Key faults include the Calumet, La Rue, Morton, Biwabik, and the Siphon. The Duluth Gabbro complex to the east has caused metamorphic changes in the Biwabik formation. The natural iron ores and the magnetite taconites occur in this Precambrian Biwabik formation, which is a cherty layer 340–750 feet (100–230 m) thick. The natural ores are located in elongated channels or tabular deposits, while the magnetite taconites occur in stratigraphic zones. Natural ores have an iron content of 51 to 57 per cent while the pellets contain 60 to 67 per cent. The natural ores are mainly mixtures of hematite and goethite. The most common silicate is Minnesotaite. Also of note are the presence of algal structures in the Biwabik formation.

Mining is conducted on multiple mineral leases having varying expiration dates. Mining leases routinely are renegotiated and renewed as they approach their respective expiration dates.

Northshore operations consist of an open pit truck and shovel mine.

In 2019, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. completed its low silica capital upgrade to produce DR-grade pellets on a commercial scale while maintaining overall production capacity of the Northshore processing facility. The Northshore is able to produce 3.5 million long tons of DR-grade pellets annually, in addition to about 2 million tons of traditional pellets.

During the second quarter of 2019, Northshore mine began supplying DR-grade pellets to Metallics segment, which will be used as feedstock for the HBI production plant when company will begin production in 2020.

Northshore Mining Company (NMC) currently mines taconite, a low-grade iron ore, at its Peter Mitchell mine, which is located near Babbitt, St. Louis County, Minnesota.

The crude ore is transported by rail from the mine to NMC’s taconite processing facility (Facility), located on the north shore of Lake Superior in Silver Bay, Lake County, Minnesota. The crude ore proceeds to fine crushing where it i ........