Employees of Cliffs Natural Resources took a group of roughly 20 area teachers on a tour Friday of the organization’s extensive transportation division, a move we think was a great idea.

Education in all its forms is an important facet of our society. Showing these teachers how modern-day mining is conducted could never be a bad thing, especially considering the rich mining heritage of this community.

It’s this opportunity to combine past with present that we feel makes events like this even more special.

To see how the teachers reacted to the experience, see the story in today’s paper by Staff Writer Jackie Stark.

The teachers had plenty to react to, getting the chance to get up close and personal with some of the biggest equipment used in mining today. Trucks the size of two-story houses, front-end loaders that could pick up a couple of full size pick-up trucks with ease, mining these days is all about maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness. That’s another lesson given to the teachers, who asked questions about the costs of purchasing and maintaining this type of equipment.

And as an added treat, the group was taken to the top of the LS&I ore dock in Marquette’s Upper Harbor for what we’re sure was a spectacular view, along with the chance to see just how iron ore pellets are transported from rail cars-some of which date back to the 1940s – to the ore ships waiting below.

We applaud Cliffs for taking the time to schedule events like these. Not only are they educating members of our community about this long-standing tradition we call mining, but they are also allowing those people to pass those lessons on to our children.