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Oliver Iron Mining Company

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Oliver Mining Company steam-powered shovel near Hibbing, 1919. A shovel removes overburden, the rock and soil that covers the ore body, so that miners can access the ore from the open pit.

Oliver Mining Company steam-powered shovel near Hibbing, 1919. In this method of mining, a shovel removes overburden, the rock and soil that covers the ore body, so that miners can access the ore from the open pit.

The Oliver Iron Mining Company was one of the most prominent mining companies in the early decades of the Mesabi Iron Range. As a division of United States Steel, Oliver dwarfed its competitors—in 1920, it operated 128 mines across the region, while its largest competitor operated only sixty-five.

After the Merritt brothers began shipping iron ore from their Mountain Iron mine in 1892, Henry Oliver, a Pittsburgh businessman, traveled to the Iron Range to consider investing in the fledgling industry. Impressed by what he saw, Oliver offered to purchase one of the ore deposits for $75,000 and 65 cents per ton of ore mined. The Merritts sold Oliver the deposit, and Oliver Iron Mining Company was born.

Many early mines on the Mesabi were controlled by East Coast financiers. John D. Rockefeller bought the Merritt brothers’ holdings in February 1894. That April, Andrew Carnegie loaned Oliver $500,000 for half of Oliver’s stock so he could compete with Rockefeller. Since Carnegie owned steel mills but Rockefeller didn’t, Rockefeller had virtually no other options than to sell his ore to Carnegie. As a result, the three men reached a compromise in 1896: Oliver would mine the ore, Rockefeller’s railroad system would transport the product, and Carnegie would transform it into steel. This agreement was finalized in 1901, and United States Steel (USS) was incorporated as the largest corporation in the world.

Oliver mines were originally clustered on the eastern end of the Mesabi. In 1900, however, investors Chester Congdon and Guilford G. Hartley acquired mineral leases on the western end of the Range near the town of Nashwauk. The ore in this area was sandier than the ore mined on the eastern end, so it needed processing in order to be used in a steel mill. This processing is called concentration because ore is concentrated into a higher-grade product. Because of the high costs associated with processing, the businessmen approached Oliver Iron Mining Company with an investment opportunity. In 1904, Oliver invested $10 million in a concentration plant that would serve this area, which the corporation referred to as the “Canisteo District.” The plant, called the Trout Lake Concentrator, transformed the region, helping existing towns like Bovey and Calumet grow. In addition, the towns of Coleraine, Marble, and Taconite were directly built by Oliver to house workers in the newly developing region.

In 1907, miners organized themselves into unions because they felt that mining companies—including Oliver—weren’t treating them fairly. A majority did not speak English and were therefore vulnerable to exploitation. When Oliver didn’t respond to a list of union demands presented that July, nearly 16,000 miners across the Mesabi went on strike. To continue operations, Oliver brought in new workers directly from Europe. When production recovered as a result, the strike collapsed and many miners returned to work—although some were blacklisted by the mining companies and never worked in a mine again. Nine years later, in 1916, miners once again went on strike. This time, Oliver hired armed guards, and in June, a dispute between strikers and guards broke out in Virginia. A picketer, John Alar, was killed and subsequently became a martyr for the cause. As the strike continued into late July, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn—a well-known American labor organizer—spoke to strikers and encouraged them to persevere, but many soon returned to work in August, effectively ending the strike.

As natural ore reserves diminished due to war effort production, Oliver turned to ore that required more processing than the rich ore that Oliver originally purchased from the Merritt brothers. While the Trout Lake Concentrator was still in operation in the Canisteo District, Oliver built the Pilotac and Extaca plants near Virginia. Pilotac was built to research methods for concentrating taconite ore, and Extaca was built to agglomerate, or combine, taconite concentrate into a high-iron product that could be used in steel mills.

Millions of dollars were invested in taconite plants throughout the Iron Range, and taconite became the chief rock mined in the region. As the Iron Range transitioned to taconite mining, United States Steel dropped the Oliver name in place of Minnesota Ore Operations.

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© Minnesota Historical Society
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Eleff, Robert M. “The 1916 Minnesota Miners’ Strike Against U.S. Steel.” Minnesota History 51, no. 2 (Summer 1988): 63–74.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/51/v51i02p063-074.pdf

Lamppa, Marvin G. Minnesota’s Iron Country: Rich Ore, Rich Lives. Duluth: Lake Superior Port Cities Press, 2004.

Torreano, Peter F. Mesabi Miracle: The 100–Year History of the Pillsbury–Bennett–Longyear Association. Hibbing: Sargent Land Company, 1991.

United States Steel Corporation. The Iron Key: In Observance of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Iron Ore Beneficiation in Minnesota, 1907–1957. Duluth: United States Steel Corporation, 1957.

——— . “Iron Ore of the Future.” Published pamphlet. Duluth: United States Steel Corporation, 1963.

——— . “This is Pilotac...An Experimental Taconite Plant.” Published pamphlet. Duluth: United States Steel Corporation, 1955.

——— . “Welcome to the Minnesota Iron Ore Country.” Published pamphlet. Duluth: United States Steel Corporation, 1953.

Walker, David A. Iron Frontier: The Discovery and Early Development of Minnesota’s Three Ranges. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1979.

Related Images

Oliver Mining Company steam-powered shovel near Hibbing, 1919. A shovel removes overburden, the rock and soil that covers the ore body, so that miners can access the ore from the open pit.
Oliver Mining Company steam-powered shovel near Hibbing, 1919. A shovel removes overburden, the rock and soil that covers the ore body, so that miners can access the ore from the open pit.
Oliver Mining Company $1.00 scrip note. This note was used as currency in the communities near the mines that OMC operated. The bill features an image of miners working in a mine, and the bill was issued in the Canisteo District in 1907.
Oliver Mining Company $1.00 scrip note. This note was used as currency in the communities near the mines that OMC operated. The bill features an image of miners working in a mine, and the bill was issued in the Canisteo District in 1907.
Home of the General Superintendent of the Oliver Mining Company in Hibbing, ca. 1913.
Home of the General Superintendent of the Oliver Mining Company in Hibbing, ca. 1913.
Colorized postcard of the Missabe Mountain open pit mine in Franklin, c.1915.
Colorized postcard of the Missabe Mountain open pit mine in Franklin, c.1915.
An Oliver Mining Company locomotive hauls ore away from an open pit near Hibbing, Minnesota, 1917. The young city is visible in the background.
An Oliver Mining Company locomotive hauls ore away from an open pit near Hibbing, Minnesota, 1917. The young city is visible in the background.
Missabe Mountain Mine, Virginia, ca. 1920. The mine was the first to be purchased by Henry Oliver and it formed the backbone on which Oliver Mining Company was built. In 2019, the it is part of the Rouchleau pit complex.
Missabe Mountain Mine, Virginia, ca. 1920. The mine was the first to be purchased by Henry Oliver and it formed the backbone on which Oliver Mining Company was built. In 2019, the it is part of the Rouchleau pit complex.
Oliver-built homes in Marble, Minnesota, 1920. The company designed and built homes in in the Canisteo District for employees to live in as they populated towns throughout the western Mesabi Range.
Oliver-built homes in Marble, Minnesota, 1920. The company designed and built homes in in the Canisteo District for employees to live in as they populated towns throughout the western Mesabi Range.
Oliver-built homes in Taconite, 1920. Similar to those built in Marble, Oliver built homes in nearby Taconite to accommodate for the growing Canisteo District population and workforce.
Oliver-built homes in Taconite, 1920. Similar to those built in Marble, Oliver built homes in nearby Taconite to accommodate for the growing Canisteo District population and workforce.
Oliver Mining Company employee gardens, 1923. Oliver Mining Company allowed employees to plant and harvest from gardens within their communities. This garden was located in Fayal Location, near Eveleth.
Oliver Mining Company employee gardens, 1923. Oliver Mining Company allowed employees to plant and harvest from gardens within their communities. This garden was located in Fayal Location, near Eveleth.
Mining at the Spruce Mine in Eveleth, ca. 1940. The Spruce Mine was one of many Oliver-controlled mines throughout the Mesabi Iron Range.
Mining at the Spruce Mine in Eveleth, ca. 1940. The Spruce Mine was one of many Oliver-controlled mines throughout the Mesabi Iron Range.
Inside the Trout Lake Concentrator, Oliver’s large ore beneficiation plant located in the Canisteo District of the Mesabi Iron Range (Coleraine, Minnesota), ca. 1940.
Inside the Trout Lake Concentrator, Oliver’s large ore beneficiation plant located in the Canisteo District of the Mesabi Iron Range (Coleraine, Minnesota), ca. 1940.
Pilotac, an experimental taconite concentrating plant built by the Oliver Mining Division of United States Steel. The plant went into operation at Mountain Iron in 1953 as Minnesota Ore Operation’s Minntac plant.
Pilotac, an experimental taconite concentrating plant built by the Oliver Mining Division of United States Steel. The plant went into operation at Mountain Iron in 1953 as Minnesota Ore Operation’s Minntac plant.

Turning Point

On February 23, 1901, United States Steel is incorporated as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Oliver formalize an earlier agreement that had split up Mesabi Range operations. Oliver Iron Mining Company, as a division of USS, came to dominate the early Iron Range mining industry thanks to its massive capital foundation provided by the world’s first billion-dollar corporation.

Chronology

1890

James A. Nichols and the Merritt brothers encounter hematite ore near present-day Mountain Iron. A few years later, the Mountain Iron Mine is opened as the first Mesabi Range mine.

1892

Henry Oliver acquires the Missabe Mountain ore property from the Merritts, and the Oliver Iron Mining Company is incorporated.

1894

Henry Oliver offers Andrew Carnegie half interest in Oliver Mining Company in exchange for a $500,000 loan. Carnegie accepts.

1896

Henry Oliver, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller agree to split duties on the Mesabi Range. Oliver will control mining operations, Rockefeller will ship the ore to the mills, and Carnegie will make it into steel.

1901

The agreement between Rockefeller, Oliver, and Carnegie is formalized and United States Steel is born as the first billion-dollar corporation. Oliver Iron Mining Company becomes a subsidiary of USS.

1904

Oliver acquires land in the Canisteo District west of Hibbing to jump start mining operations in this part of the Iron Range.

1907

At this point in time, Oliver Mining Company employs 10,139 workers; fewer than 300 of them speak English.

1909

Oliver’s Trout Lake Concentration Plant, a large processing plant that allowed the Canisteo District to be profitably mined, opens near the growing company town of Coleraine.

1916

Miners across the Iron Range go on a strike that turns deadly as a result of clashes between picketers and Oliver-hired armed guards. The strike ends in August.

1919

Oliver buys lots from local landowners to access ore underneath Hibbing, and the entire town is relocated two miles to the south to replace the small community of Alice.

1940

Oliver offers processed ore on the open market for the first time, signaling a change in the iron and steel industry.

1950

As reserves of higher grade ore were depleted, Oliver begins to research taconite processing. This results in Extaca, an ore agglomeration plant, along with Pilotac, Oliver’s experimental taconite processing plant.

1967

Minntac, Pilotac’s successor, officially opens as a taconite mine and processing facility under United States Steel.

2003

National Steel Corporation is acquired by United States Steel, bringing the National Steel Pellet facility in Keewatin under Minnesota Ore Operations. (That facility was later renamed Keetac.)