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Empire mine shuts down temporarily

PALMER, MI--   About 350 workers at the Empire mine are off until the fall. 

Cliffs Natural Resources says the workers are laid off until October while the mine is temporarily shut down.  Officials attribute the stoppage to historic levels of foreign steel imports, which represent about 34 percent of the finished steel market.

Laid-off employees will be able to file for unemployment benefits.

Cliffs says it’s monitoring the steel market.  If conditions improve the Empire may reopen sooner.

Nicole was born near Detroit but has lived in the U.P. most of her life. She graduated from Marquette Senior High School and attended Michigan State and Northern Michigan Universities, graduating from NMU in 1993 with a degree in English.