Mines Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus, 56 East River Road, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN

Significance: The Mines Experiment Station, rechristened the Mineral Resources Research Center in 1970, was established in Minneapolis in 1911 in conjunction with the University of Minnesota's School of Mines. The nucleus of the station's Renaissance Revival building, which was constructed in 1922-1923, was a pilot plant where researchers could run large-scale tests of ore processing equipment and methods. Over the decades, the station produced breakthroughs in mineral-related technology, and became particularly renowned for advances in taconite processing. Taconite, a low-grade iron ore, was abundant in the iron ranges of northern Minnesota, but was challenging to mine and concentrate. As higher grades of iron ore became depleted in the United States by the mid-twentieth century, taconite processing became strategically significant as a means of maintaining a domestic source of ore for the nation's steel mills.
Survey number: HAER MN-95
Building/structure dates: 1922-1923 Initial Construction