I imagine we’ll be seeing an article here on Trains soon, but apparently CN is shutting down the Escanaba, MI ore docks. Apparently they haven’t seen any trains since the Empire Mine closed.
http://upperpeninsula.biz/cn-close-escanaba-ore-dock-end-april/
Just activated the link.
Correct, the last train ran in late October. There’s some ore left at Empire, but it doesn’t sound like that will move via Escanaba at all - probably, I imagine, via the LS&I at some point, since it doesn’t sounds like it is due to move soon.
So the LS&I dock becomes the last active ore dock in the State of Michigan. Currently serves only the Tilden Mine.
CN’s operations remain with the U745 all-rail ore train to Sault Ste Marie. The train runs with four-bay hoppers, instead of jennies, due to weight restrictions on the bridge at the SOO. U745 departs Gladstone for the LS&I daily around 4pm, and operates as a turn to get back to Escanaba in the middle of the night. The loads then continue on from Gladstone to the Sault as the headend block of L551, returning on L550? to Gladstone to continue the cycle. Summertime loads are 45 cars each, give or take, while in the winter the Sault Ore will run as up to 70 cars, the most the Algoma Works can handle in a day.
Also operating on the Marquette Range Sub is local turn L549, which turns on the LS&I around 9-10am daily.
So there are still trains running on the Marquette Range, but losing both U741 and U743, the daily jennie turns, has cut the number of trips up the line in half.
Not much left in the mines. Cheap imported steel makes using concentrated ore way to expensive. It does seem that the Escanaba dock is the most modern and they would find it easier to haul the ore there for loading in stead of on Lake Superior through the old style docks?
Geography is the reason that the ore docks exist at Escanaba. They allow ore boats to serve the remaining Calumet region steel mills without having to pass through the Soo Locks, which shut down every winter.
Escanaba’s primary role was shipping the Menomiee Range iron ore. When that source shut down 40 years ago, Escanaba was on borrowed time. Their time has run out, despite the 2 month Soo winter closure season.
A lot of it is simply tied up in the realities of the remaining mine at Tilden. Who owns the mines has a lot to do with where the stuff goes.
Empire, the older of the two mines, was owned only to the tune of about 22% by Cliffs Natural Resources. They managed it, while the largest share is/was held by Inland Steel. Of course they have their big mill in East Chicago, so it made good sense to ship via Escanaba instead of via Lake Superior. In fact, it wasn’t until 1989 that the LS&I handled any of the traffic from Empire at all. In recent years, CN was handling the Empire contracts via Escanaba, until of course, they went with the mine.
Meanwhile, Tilden is owned 40% by Cliffs, and another large chunk by the Algoma Steel interests. Thus, it makes sense that a huge chunk of Tilden’s ore goes to Algoma (in fact, that’s all Algoma gets). So the interests and geography means that Tilden was best suited to shipping via the LS&I to Lake Superior. The CN gets some all-rail traffic, which supplements the shipping and fully replaces it in winter.
As previously stated, once the Menominee Range was played out, there were no mines which made absolute sense to ship via Escanaba. While both Tilden and Empire were producing, there was plenty of traffic to keep both Marquette and Escanaba busy. Now, with only one mine, splitting the haul up wouldn’t really justify it for either facility.
Case in point, previously Escanaba would handle Tilden Ore in wintertime. But what if there is no year-round floes? Well CN doesn’t wanna keep the dock open for only 2-3 months of shipping each year.
And so we reach the point
A rebound in historic low metal prices on many metals would help a lot. Monies for exploration and mine development are non existent. Regulations make mine development on a good ore body 30 years in the making in many cases.
Mining has always been on a boom bust cycle but I fear for our Mines in North America.
The Highland Copper Company is the one planning to open the Copperwood Mine within the next couple of years, and is reportedly in the phase of purchasing the White Pine Mine/Processing facility. Like the Eagle Project, ore from the mine will likely be shipped over road to the mill and refined there. Open question still as to if the ore leaves directly via the CN White Pine or gets trucked to transload on the ELS, Mineral Range, or CN Marquette Range sub. It is unlikely that it gets trucked the entire distance, since like the Mineral Range the ore should be going long distances to smelters.
Highland is also in the exploratory phase at two more sites in the Keweenaw, but Copperwood is fully permitted and it sounds like they’re going to pull the trigger on that one!
https://www.highlandcopper.com/projects
The “Back 40” project in Menominee County isn’t quite as far along, but they’re pretty far into the process with drilling to characterize the deposit as well as groundwater/surface monitoring. This is another chance to see ore concenrates leaving by rail, probably via the CN, which runs nearby. Not sure on the processing facilities.
http://www.aquilaresources.com/projects/back-forty-project/#!
So there are some projects in the late development stages in the UP. The Eagle Mine paved the way with a new round of legislation in Michigan for mining. The rules are strict but not overburdening (they weren&
Being a local, I see a Road-Trip this April. [:)]
Good on Michigan. Mining friendly juristrictions are few and far between. The Upper Pennisula of Michigan has a long, historic, significant contribution to Michigans economy, and to advancements in the Mining Industry itself. Highball, that’s all!
I know one of those Menominee Range projects is the Back Forty (base metal) but is the other project iron ore related?