Msnbc.msn reported that if a testing project is successful tonnes of a taconite by product will soon find a permanent home underneath the tires of motorists in Illinois.

Taconite rock is found in abundance in Northern Minnesota and it may hold the key for an economic revival.

It said that "The actual part of the iron formation that doesn't have enough iron in it to make into taconite pellets so this is material is basically the iron formation rock that is used to get at that ore."

Recently the first test shipment of taconite rock left the port of Duluth bound for Chicago, where it will be tested for a variety of applications like road construction and concrete mixing. If the tests pan out it wouldn't only be the mining industry benefiting.

Thursday's shipment of 5000 tonnes of taconite rock follows a study by UMD's Natural Resources Research Institute which examined various applications for the material.

(Sourced from Msnbc.msn.com)