Utah Iron suspended operations indefinitely starting Thursday April 10, 2025, after citing significant changes in production costs. The closure affects more than 100 employees in Iron County.
Cedar City Mayor Garth Green announced the closure during the City Council meeting before the closure went into effect.
“Significant fluctuations in global markets have created an unusual and strenuous amount of uncertainty for buyers and sellers,” shared Utah Iron.
Utah Iron is now reevaluating its production costs and viability in the current market.
The ore mined is a major supplier for railways and sea shipping across the globe and the Iron County community is expected to suffer because of the closure.
A former employee of Utah Iron blames President Donald Trump’s recent tariffs on China as the cause of the shutdown.
“The iron ore that we mine, we send down to Long Beach and from there it gets shipped over to China, where it’s further refined, and then gets shipped back to the United States … It’s because of the tariffs,” said Austin Godwin, who worked on railway operations before the closure. “The percentage is too high and makes it not economically feasible for them to keep the mine up and running right now.”
Although the company did not confirm Trump’s tariffs as the reason for the closure, many small businesses have been affected in similar ways. The tariff rate ranges from 0 to 145% on goods, which hurts small businesses who rely on China for production.
The employee who spoke out said he hopes to dispel rumors about the closure and make the community aware of the effects of Trump’s tariffs.
Author: Hannah Clove
Photo courtesy of Utah Iron
Editor: Anna Mower
news@suunews.net
