Back Forty Mine

10/13/2026

Let’s line the streets and honor our heroes this Thursday! We invite you to join us along 10th St or Hwy 41 North (up to Birch Creek Rd) to show our Veterans the massive support they deserve. Bring your flags, wear your patriotic colors, salute, wave, and cheer!

10/05/2026

True technological leadership requires more than just lab breakthroughs and faster microchips—it demands the industrial capacity to scale those ideas into the marketplace. 🌐
To turn innovation into economic strength, we have to look at the very foundation of the supply chain: readily available mined minerals. Industrial power starts from the ground up. ⛏️

America’s technology leadership starts with minerals. From copper and rare earths to the materials powering advanced manufacturing, AI and energy infrastructure, stronger domestic mining and processing will be essential to building secure U.S. supply chains and turning innovation into lasting industrial strength. Read more from President & CEO Rich Nolan's blog here: https://nma.org/the-minerals-behind-american-technology-leadership/

09/29/2026

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (U.P.) is rapidly emerging as a critical hub for America’s domestic mineral supply chain, driven by three major recent developments. Together, these initiatives combine new exploration, established processing infrastructure, and advanced construction plans to secure the essential metals needed for U.S. manufacturing, energy, and defense. The future looks bright!

It’s been a big 30 days for mining in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula!

And if the number 30 looks familiar to Michigan sports fans, there’s a reason. It’s the number worn by longtime Detroit Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood, a three-time Stanley Cup champion who spent the majority of his NHL career in Detroit.

So, in honor of one of Michigan’s most recognizable , we’re taking a look at what has been an impressive 30 days for Michigan mining.

In just the past few weeks, three major developments have highlighted the growing role Michigan could play in America’s domestic mineral supply chain.

The U.S. Department of War committed up to $5.22 million in Defense Production Act funding to support Bitterroot Resources’ LM Nickel Copper Project in the Upper Peninsula. The investment will help advance exploration, drilling, permitting, and other work aimed at identifying a new domestic source of nickel and copper.

Not far away, Talon Metals announced that its Humboldt Mill in Michigan is the preferred processing location for future material from the Tamarack Nickel Copper Cobalt Project in Minnesota. Following Talon’s acquisition of Eagle Mine and Humboldt Mill earlier this year, the company is looking to build on existing infrastructure, an experienced workforce, and decades of mining expertise in the region.

And in the Western U.P., Highland Copper secured $50 million in support from the Michigan Strategic Fund to help advance its fully permitted Copperwood Project. The investment includes funding for site readiness and regional infrastructure as the project works toward construction and the potential creation of approximately 380 family-supporting jobs.

Taken together, these announcements tell an exciting story about the future of mining in the Upper Peninsula: new exploration, existing production and processing infrastructure, and a fully permitted copper project moving closer to construction.

Michigan has been mining the resources that helped build America for generations.

Between these projects, the Upper Peninsula has an opportunity to build on that legacy and play an even greater role in producing and processing the nickel and copper America needs for manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, and national defense.

09/21/2026

Minerals dominate the upcoming U.S.-China summit just as a major Minnesota iron ore project kicks off.

09/18/2026

Our local schools and Freedom for Patriots - Our services honor their service continued support of our veterans. Thank you!

Stephenson Area Public Schools is honored to be a part of something so rewarding. Veteran sports passes are available in the school office, as well as all of our home games at our admission table. ❤️🤍💙

09/15/2026

America faces major national security risks because it relies on other countries for important minerals. China controls most of the world's supply of processed minerals, which leaves U.S. defense systems and technology in danger. Something needs to change.

The U.S. defense industrial base today faces a critical minerals challenge—one with serious national security implications.  On August 4, media reports indicated that a major U.S. defense c

09/11/2026

On September 11, 2001, rookie fighter pilot Heather Penney was ordered on a su***de mission to protect Washington, D.C. Since the nation was at peace, her F-16 jet was completely unarmed—no missiles, no live rounds, and no time to load them. With United Flight 93 minutes away, her commander gave a chilling directive: "I’m going to go for the cockpit. You take the tail. "Without hesitation, she responded: "Roger that."

They took off ready to use their own jets as guided missiles, preparing to sacrifice their lives to protect the U.S. Capitol. Ultimately, the brave passengers of Flight 93 fought back and brought the plane down in Pennsylvania before the pilots had to make the ultimate sacrifice.
🇺🇸 True courage. Never forget.

On 9/11, the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 stormed the cockpit, forcing the hijacked jet to crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. But before the world knew of their bravery, members of Washing...

09/09/2026

The UPCC Building Trades Summer Camp provides participants with hands-on experience alongside skilled union professionals, the opportunity to visit real-world worksites, and discover great-paying careers available in their own backyard.

09/04/2026

U.S. investment in mineral supply chains is hitting historic highs, but capital alone won't build new mines. To actually get resources out of the ground, America must pair this funding with permitting reform. At the same time, the scramble for strategic supply chains is forcing governments to shift from simple lenders to active equity partners in mining deals.

State involvement is increasingly taking forms once associated primarily with commercial investors, including equity stakes, price floors and long-term offtake agreements.

08/31/2026

Built over generations, the industrial infrastructure of Minnesota and Michigan—spanning mines, pellet plants, rail, and Great Lakes shipping—directly fuels American steel mills. Supported by an experienced workforce, this domestic resource base is poised to play an even more vital role in the future of U.S. steel manufacturing.

America's Taconite Mines are foundational national security assets.
As China expands its influence over the global iron ore market and invests directly in some of the world’s largest high-grade deposits, the strategic importance of America's domestic iron ore supply chain is becoming increasingly clear.

For more than a century, Minnesota has been America's leading producer of iron ore, with the industry evolving from high-grade natural ore in the 50's to taconite production that continues to supply American steelmakers today.

During World War I and World War II, Minnesota's Iron Range supplied enormous quantities of the iron ore that fed America's steel mills, providing the raw material needed to manufacture ships, tanks, aircraft, weapons, railroads and the industrial infrastructure that supported America's war efforts.

The Great Lakes iron ore industry was a strategic national asset then, and it remains one today.

Today, seven taconite mines in Minnesota and Michigan form the foundation of America's domestic iron ore supply chain:

✅ Minntac — Minnesota — U.S. Steel
✅ Tilden Mine — Michigan — Cleveland-Cliffs
✅ Keetac — Minnesota — U.S. Steel
✅ United Taconite — Minnesota — Cleveland-Cliffs
✅ Northshore Mining — Minnesota — Cleveland-Cliffs
✅ Hibbing Taconite — Minnesota — Cleveland-Cliffs and U.S. Steel
✅ Minorca Mine — Minnesota — Cleveland-Cliffs

Together, these operations support something increasingly valuable in today's world: a vertically integrated American supply chain capable of turning domestically mined iron ore into domestically produced steel.

Minnesota and Michigan have the resources, mines, pellet plants, railroads, Great Lakes shipping infrastructure, skilled workforce and connections to American steel mills that have been built over generations.

And this domestic resource base can become even more important to the future of American steelmaking.

Investments in beneficiation and DR-grade pellet production, combined with America's growing DRI and HBI capabilities, can give Great Lakes iron ore the flexibility to support both traditional integrated steelmaking and the growing use of electric arc furnaces.

We're already seeing that transition take place.

United States Steel Corporation's Keetac Mine in Minnesota is producing DR-grade pellets for next-generation steelmaking, while Cleveland-Cliffs's Northshore Mining is producing DR-grade pellets that supply the company’s HBI facility in Toledo, Ohio.

As the United States rebuilds its manufacturing base and works to strengthen its defense industrial base, these mines should be recognized for what they are:

Strategic national assets.