Im doing a project in science class and it needs to be about something i love. i like Duluth,MN and i was just wondering how the whole process works. any help??
Iron ore is not shipped, but processed into taconite pellets first, then loaded onto bulk carriers, and shipped to smelters in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Ontario. To process taconite, the ore is ground into a fine powder, the magnetite is separated from the gangue by strong magnets, and the powdered iron concentrate is combined with a binder such as bentonite clay and limestone as a flux. As a last step, it is rolled into pellets about one centimeter in diameter that contain approximately 65% iron. The pellets are fired at a very high temperatures to harden them and make them durable.- . This site gives a good history of ore movement around the great lakes: www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/iron_ore.
Steamboats and Sailors of the Great Lakes by Mark L. Thompson (c) 1991 Wayne State University Press. Is a great book that explains how the taconite pellets are made then shipped to the various steel mills. Most of the freighters are self unloading.
