Updated at: 09/14/2009 5:53 PM

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KeeTac to Restart

Keewatin Taconite, which was the first taconite plant to be shut down because of the recession, is now going to be restarted.

Steelworkers got the call Monday afternoon from parent company U.S. Steel.

"It's great. I was worried that our young people would find other work, since they're out of insurance and sub-pay. It's nice to not be losing our talented people," said Jack Thronson, President of Local 2660.

All of the 325 laid off hourly employees will be receiving letters in the mail this week, asking them to get their physicals and safety training done.

Details on when the restart will begin were not available yet.

The call back will be for maintenance people first, then operations.

"Managers will be out here, determining what needs to be done before the re-start," Thronson said.

KeeTac is one of the smaller plants in Minnesota. It's similar in size to Minorca Mine in Virginia.

KeeTac was idled in December, putting almost 400 hourly and some management out of work. Some of them went to Minntac for several weeks, for maintenance projects there.