HIBBING, Minn. – Two Iron Range mines will be closed and 630 employees furloughed until the impact of the Trump tariff war on Canada and Mexico settles out. The lay-offs are effective in 60 days, said Lourenco Goncalves, chief executive of the mines’ owner — the giant Cleveland-Cliff steel-maker in Ohio. Closed will be the Hibbing Taconite mine in Hibbing and the Minorca mine 25 miles away in Virginia. Goncalves called the lay-offs necessary “to rebalance working capital needs and consume excess pellet inventory.” Goncalves blamed “unnatural market factors” including elevated interest rates and competition from foreign producers. About the Trump tariff war, Goncalves said higher tariffs may be good in theory despite all the uncertainty for U.S. automakers – a major giant Cleveland-Cliff customer.
