As a result, the three men reached a compromise in 1896: Oliver would mine the ore, Rockefeller's railroad system would transport the product, and Carnegie would transform it into steel.
In 1900, however, investors Chester Adgate Congdon and Guilford G. Hartley acquired mineral leases on the western end of the Range near the town of Nashwauk.
The plant, called the Trout Lake Concentrator, transformed the region, helping existing towns like Bovey and Calumet grow.
In addition, the towns of Coleraine, Marble, and Taconite were directly built by Oliver to house workers in the newly developing region.
When Oliver didn't respond to a list of union demands presented that July, nearly 16,000 miners launched the 1907 Mesabi Range strike.
While the Trout Lake Concentrator was still in operation in the Canisteo District, Oliver built the Pilotac and Extaca plants near the city of Virginia.
As the Iron Range transitioned to taconite mining, United States Steel dropped the Oliver name in place of Minnesota Ore Operations.