VIRGINIA, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Transportation will relocate part of U.S. 53 near Virginia so United Taconite can mine beneath the current highway.
A 1960 easement requires the state to move the highway at the company's request. Maureen Talarico, spokeswoman for Cliffs Natural Resources, which owns United Taconite, says the deposit has a "substantial amount of good ore."
The easement required the state to move the highway within three years of the company's request. But MnDOT spokesman John Bray said the move will not happen that quickly.
Bray says MnDOT has asked Cliffs for seven years, "and they are going to give us seven years."
