Miners have to dig where the ore is, and now they've found an iron ore deposit lying beneath Hwy. 53 near Virginia, Minn.

So the state of Minnesota will reroute the road in the coming years to give United Taconite a clear shot at the ore, reports the Duluth News Tribune. An easement from 1960 requires the state to do so, the paper says.

“Not mining there would shorten the life of the mine and greatly, negatively impact the hundreds of people that work at United Taconite along with the communities that benefit from it,” Maureen Talarico told the papers. She's a spokeswoman for Cliffs Natural Resources, which owns United Taconite. “There’s a substantial amount of good ore, and we’re looking forward to mining it. We would mine it right now if we could.”

They're not sure yet how much ore is under the road.

The easement calls for the road to be moved within three years of the company's request, but state and company officials agree it will be more like seven years because of new road-building rules and requirements.

And who will pay? The company doesn't have to, and state officials might look for federal help.

Sourced from www.minnpost.com