Often called the “Father of Taconite” or “Mr. Taconite,” Professor Emeritus Edward Wilson Davis gained fame for his pioneering work in taconite processing that led to the development of the iron ore palletizing industry on the Mesabi Range in Minnesota, as well as throughout the world.
He graduated from Purdue University in 1911 with a B.S. degree and later an advanced degree in electrical engineering. He worked for both Westinghouse Electric Corp. and General Electric.
Joining the faculty at the University of Minnesota, he began his pioneering work on taconite. In the early 1900s, he and Daniel C. Jackling (Mining Hall of Fame Inductee 1988) investigated taconite processing and constructed a pilot plant. The rock proved to be resistant to the drill bits and explosives available at that time. From 1918 to 1939 he served as Superintendent of the Mineral Resources Research Center at Minneapolis, and later as its Director until retiring in 1951.
It was here that the taconite process was born: an effective method of liberating the finely-disseminated particles of magnetite from the flint-hard taconite rock.
Prof. Davis was alone in his belief that the apparently worthless taconite, containing 18% to 25% iron in its natural state, would yield its richness in steelmaking.
In 1951 Dr. Davis took a leave of absence to join Reserve Mining Co., which was operating a small plant on the eastern Mesabi Range. He personally operated the equipment to dump the first railroad car of taconite to Silver Bay from Babbitt over Reserve’s 47-mile intra-plant railroad.
Following his retirement from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Davis served as a consultant to Reserve until his death. His work with taconite spanned a half-century. The original flow sheet, the many stages in the processing of taconite, and the equipment and components that made the process a reality, were all invented, improved or perfected by E.W. Davis. He received numerous awards from the AIME and the American Mining Congress.
