Minnesota’s iron mining industry began here in 1884, when the first ore was shipped from the Breitung pit of the Soudan Mine on July 31, 1884, launching development of the rich iron ore deposits of the Vermilion, the oldest of Minnesota’s three ranges. The Soudan was first worked from seven open pits but soon became an underground operation. Operating from 1884 until 1962, it is Minnesota’s oldest and deepest mine, with a shaft reaching 2,500 feet and drifts or tunnels running three-fourths of a mile east and west. At its production peak in 1892, the Soudan shipped more than 568,000 long tons of high-grade ore and employed 1,800 men. In 1965, the Oliver Iron Mining Division of the United States Steel Corporation presented the mine to the state of Minnesota.