Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company - Historical Data 
Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company - Historical Data The following information is dated June 12, 1964 and was part of Cliffs' press release package about the installation of the Bailey 760 boiler control system on the William G. Mather.
Cleveland-Cliffs was not only a pioneer in the iron ore industry in the Lake Superior district, it was THE pioneer. Cliffs and its predecessor companies have been mining iron ore on the Marquette Range of Michigan's Upper Peninsula since 1850.
During the early mining days the iron ore only needed to be dug out of the ground and shipped. With the declining availability of quality direct shipping ore, the mining industry, during the last 10 years, has turned to pelletizing low-grade ores into a high-grade product for use by the iron and steel industry.
Cliffs has large reserves of low-grade jasper ore on the Marquette Range. In 1951 the first commercial development of low-grade ore was begun at the Humboldt Mine near Ishpeming. This, and subsequent plants, were the culmination of years of research in a method of economically concentrating and agglomerating a high-grade product from these low-grade reserves.
Cliffs has pioneered the concentration of iron ore by the flotation process; in the application of the Grate Kiln to pelletize iron ore and wet autogenous grinding of iron ore. Most recently Cliffs has announced a joint venture in which it will develop the production of oil from oil shale.
Cliffs' pellet plants now number 4, with a capacity of 5 million tons of high-grade pellets annually. In April of 1965, Cliffs will put on stream its 5th plant. This plant will be the first one to pelletize natural ore, and an underground ore at that.
Cliffs also operates a hard ore mine and an Ore Improvement Plant on the Marquette Range and three open pit mines on the Mesabi Range in Minnesota.
During the early years of mining the ore was smelted at or near the mines and the pig iron shipped by vessel. After the opening of the Soo Canal in 1855, it was found more efficient to ship the ore to lower lakes ports where the steel making industry was begining to locate.
From the small crude vessels which plied the lakes during the 1860's has come the fleets of modern giant ore carriers forming the most efficient transportation system in the world.
Cliffs has been responsible for other inovations on the Great Lakes. These include the Steamship Cliffs Victory a former World War II victory ship which was lengthened and added to Cliffs' fleet; the Steamship Walter A Sterling a former ocean tanker which was converted to bulk cargo trade by the addition of a mid-section; the installation of a single boiler on the Steamships William G. Mather, Frontenac, and Pontiac; and automatic boiler controls on the Mather.
| Vessel | Keel Ft. | Beam Ft. | Capacity (Summer) G.T. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter A. Sterling | 730 | 75 | 23,400 |
| Edward B Green | 620 | 70 | 19,600 |
| Cliffs Victory | 686 | 62 | 17,200 |
| Champlain | 604 | 60 | 15,300 |
| Cadiliac | 604 | 60 | 15,275 |
| William G Mather | 592 | 62 | 13,400 |
| Frontenac | 580 | 60 | 12,800 |
| Pontiac | 580 | 60 | 12,800 |
| Ishpeming | 530 | 56 | 10,500 |
| La Salle | 530 | 56 | 10,575 |
| Total per trip | 150,850 |
Competition from foreign vessels and the ever increasing operating costs has made it necessary to seek out and install economies in current ship operations. The automatic boiler controls recently installed on the Steamship William G. Mather and the installation of bow thrusters on the Mather and the Cliffs Victory were the result of studies made to improve operating efficiencies in Cliffs' fleet.
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Mather Museum Homepage
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Robert M. Martel,
