Taconite Mining Grants
One in a Series of Division Fact Sheets
Division of Lands and Minerals $ Minnesota Department of Natural Resources $ 2002
What is this program and why is it important? • Cost reduction, energy savings, or value-
The Minnesota Legislature established two Taconite added products (25%)
Mining Grant Programs in 2001 to provide funds • Installation of demonstration technology and
that will lead to improvements in taconite pellet the applicability of that technology to other
quality, reductions in pellet production costs, and Minnesota taconite plants (10%)
investments in value-added products in Minnesota • Critical technical improvements (10%)
taconite plants. The first grants will be awarded in • Availability of private matching funds
September 2002. (10%)
• Environmental emission reduction (10%)
The programs depend on the royalties generated by • Joint proposals by two or more Minnesota
taconite mining on school and university trust lands. taconite companies (10%).
The Legislature established that 20 percent of
school and university land taconite royalties would Grants will be available to all seven Minnesota
be certified as the state’s cost for administering and taconite mining companies:
managing these trust lands. Under the programs, 20 • EVTAC Mining, LLC;
percent of the royalties from each trust land type are • Hibbing Taconite Company;
transferred into the state’s General Fund. Funds are • Ispat-Inland Mining Company;
then appropriated to the Commissioner of the • Minnesota Ore Operations of USX Corp.;
Department of Natural Resources (equivalent to • National Steel Pellet Company;
school trust royalties) and the Director of the • Northshore Mining Company; and
University of Minnesota’s Coleraine Minerals • Cliffs Erie LLC (formerly LTV Mining
Research Laboratory (equivalent to university trust Company).
royalties) to award grants to Minnesota taconite
companies. What projects have been proposed?
While no formal proposals have been made, areas
The program is in effect for royalties generated in of known interest to the state and the taconite
FY 02–06. On September 1, 2002, an estimated companies include:
$600,000 in grant monies will be available from
mining on school trust lands and about $500,000 • High Pressure Roller Press Installation
from mining on university trust lands. The actual • In-pit Magnetic Cobbing and Conveying
amounts will be determined in May 2002. Grant • New Taconite Concentrator Flowsheet
monies in future years will depend on future mining • Pre-classification of Flotation Feed
activity on school and university trust lands. Concentrate
• Rod Mill Feed Cobbing
What are the criteria for the grants, and who is • Use of Hydrated Lime for use in Fluxed
eligible? Pellets
For monies generated from school trust royalties, • Use of Hydrated Lime as a Substitute for
the Department of Natural Resources will issue a Bentonite
Request for Proposals (RFP) in April, with grants • Concentrator Flowsheet Changes from
awarded in September. The DNR will evaluate the Application of Process Models
grant proposals based on the following weighted • Use of Magnetic Flocculation in Hydro-
criteria: separators
• Broad applicability to the taconite industry • Use of Vertimills to Grind Screen Oversize
in Minnesota (25%) in Rodmill-Ballmill plants
www.dnr.state.mn.us