Surface mines are a common sight in mineral-rich areas. One such area is the Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota. These mines will eventually become abandoned, as many in the eastern United States, as well as many along the Mesabi Iron Range already have. Abandoned surface mines can be hazardous if they are allowed to erode, settle, or even collapse. As the United States becomes increasingly environmentally aware, this research may act as a partial solution to deforestation that occurs to expand our communities near these mines. The mines have already taken out forests, so why not build within them rather than expand further into our wilderness? This thesis will attempt to create a framework to reclaim these mines as symbiotic partner communities to the cities nearby rather than allowing them to sit vacant and deteriorate.