Pioneer Mine, fuse cutting and capping station

Abstract

A miner works at a fuse cutting and capping station underground at the Pioneer Mine. The Pioneer Mine was an underground iron mine in the Vermillion district near Ely, Minnesota. The mine was in operation by about 1900 and closed in about 1949. The Pioneer was operated by the Oliver Iron Mining Company. The Oliver Iron Mining Company was organized in 1892 to manage mining property in the Mesabi Range. The Company acquired mineral properties elsewhere in Minnesota and in the Upper Peninsula. By 1901 the Company was a division of United States Steel Corporation.