Mesabi is a range of low hills in northeastern Minnesota, which was once famous for its extensive iron ore deposits. The ores were found in a belt of some 180 km (110 miles) long and between 1.6 and 4.8 km (1 and 3 miles) wide between Babbitt and Grand Rapids. They occurred in horizontal layers of up to 152 m (500 feet) thick that were found near the surface and mined by the open pit method.
Most reserves of high-grade hematite iron are now exhausted and lower-grade taconite deposits are being worked. The taconite contains mostly chert and magnetite, an iron-bearing mineral and must undergo a costly and complex beneficiation process before being shipped in the form of pellets containing about 60% iron. Most of the ore found in the region is shipped by rail to Duluth and other ports on Lake Superior. The Mesabi iron ore deposits were first discovered in 1887 by Leonidas Merritt and his brothers, who organized the Mountain Iron Company in 1890 to mine the ore. John D. Rockefeller gained control of the company in the Panic of 1893.
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