Hill Annex Mine – Calumet, Minnesota
You’ve probably heard about the iron ore mines in Minnesota but now you can actually visit one and learn about the history on the tour offered at Hill Annex Iron Mine. The one and one half hour open pit mine tour is truly worth the time to take. Teh visitors make a spectacular desent into the mining’s past. You will learn about mining, the people that worked the mines, their history and more.
The tour is led by an interpreter who has mining bacground. In addition to the tour and their knowledge of the mines they also lead park fossil hunts during the summer season. Tours are held Wednesday through Saturday. You will discover marine fossils in nothern Minnesota.
The land that has Hill Annex was originally leased for mineral exploration in 1892. It was leased again in 1900 for a period of more than 50 years. The actual mining began in 1913 and continued until 1978. The mine produced 63 million tons of iron ore, and was the sixth larget producer in the state.
In the 60 years of operaiton, mining technology changed drastically and you will be able to see the displays showing the different types of equipment used over the years. In the early days, horses provided the power and then steam and then electircal power replaced the horse-drawn equipment.
Whe the high-grade ore finally playe dout, the mine was sold to the Iron Range Resourses and Rehabilitation Board for $1. They developed the tour route, vonverted the clubhouse into a museum/visitor center and gave mine tours for 10 years. The museum displayes are shown on two floors of the museum along with a gift shop and the park office. In 1988, the Minnesota Legislature made Hill Annex Mine a state park.
The underlaying bedrock formations int he park date back over 2.7 billion years. Although the iron-bearing rock has been mined extensively, there probably are deposits of other minerals still in the earth.
The open pit mine has become a lake frequented by osprey, gulls and loons. When the mine shut down in 1978, the pumps that kept it dry over the decades were stopped, and the water seeped back in. The tour offers visitors panoramic views of the mine pit lakes and the rock walls in their various hues of red.
The park consists of 635 acres of land.
The trail crosses the southwest corner of the park and is called the Mesabi Bike trail. It is a paved bike trail suitable for hiking too. The access point if the Hill Annex Mine parking lot. There are not ski or snowmobile trails in the park.
The open-pit mine and mining facitities are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also designed as a site along the Heritage Tour route of northeast Minnesota.
There are both reserved and first come first serve campsites available so call for reserations between 8 am and 8 pm seven days a week.
Phone: 1-866-857-2757
Email: info.dnr@state.mn.us
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