Empire Mine, near Palmer, was in operation starting in 1964 but shut down in August 2016. The Empire is 1 mile across and 1,200 feet deep. 3 million to 4.4 million tons of iron pellets were produced at Empire each of the past five years, according to the 2015 annual report. As of now the mine sits idle waiting for the next chapter , if it ever comes. Here an empty ore train is making the 8 mile trip from Eagle Mills to the Tilden Plant for loading.
