We are used to seeing golden spray painted shovels at ground breakings.
But smacking open coconuts is something new altogether on the Iron Range of Minnesota.
The traditional symbol of good luck in the nation of India could not have been more appropriate Friday in Nashwauk, Minnesota -- the long struggling community of 930 people that just hit the economic jackpot.
"There's no doubt this is the happiest day," said a beaming mayor William Hendricks. "What more could you ask for. The economy is going to boom."
Not far from the tent put up for Friday's ceremony, Essar Steel Holdings of India will build a first-in North America, iron mine, taconite plant and steel mill - all in one.
Compared to the traditional approach of mining and then shipping taconite to far off mills, the all-in-one plant will save millions in annual transportation costs. "The fundamental fact is that we are close to the raw material source," said Madhu Vuppuluri, president and CEO of Essar Steel Minnesota. "We are right on the mine."
Essar will spend $1.6 billion building the facility, creating 2000 construction jobs in the process. Employment at the mine, taconite plant and steel mill should reach 700 within five years, when the facility is fully functioning.
The news could not have been better for Nashwauk, a town that never recovered from the closing of its previous taconite plant in the 1980's.
"In droves they left," recalls beauty shop owner Sandy Kennedy. "Young people just could not make it so they had to go to the cities or where they could find work."
But now Nashwauk is part of an Iron Range renaissance, brought on by high foreign demand for steel and the falling U.S. dollar.
Expansions in Minnesota's taconite industry - either planned or already underway - now total $5 billion.
"With so much of the rest of the economy in turmoil to have this bright spot in Northeastern Minnesota, with the mining industry coming back and new investments and new jobs here it's a very good thing," said Gov. Tim Pawlenty, in Nashwauk for the ground breaking. "It'll be one of the largest job and economic development projects in the modern history of our state."
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