Hats off to northeastern Minnesota's miners!

Sunday, Dec. 6 is National Miners Day.

National Miners Day is a day designated in 2003 by Congress to honor the mine workers of today and yesterday whose contributions have helped make America strong.

Northeastern Minnesota's miners have for 131 years provided iron ore, the raw material needed to make the steel that's built America.

The first shipment of iron ore from northeastern Minnesota was July 31, 1884, from the Minnesota Mine in Soudan.

According to the Mine Safety Health Administration, about 360,000 miners in all 50 states today extract nearly 100 different types of minerals from the earth, including taconite (which is turned into iron ore pellets), coal, gold, silver, granite, limestone, salt, gravel, and more.

On National Miners Day, we salute the men and women of northeastern Minnesota's mining industry and all miners in the United States.

Thank you for your hard work!