While your video alludes to the unloading of iron ore/taconite pellets you are overlooking one of the machines that facilitated this operation in years gone by - The Hulett Machines
As the video begins, we fly over some nice, neat piles of product. I don't see any loading or unloading equipment which might have created those piles? Must be something portable they bring in...?
I believe most boats on the Great Lakes these days are what is known as 'self unloaders' with the ship itself having equipment and a conveyor boom to off load their bulk commodity directly to the pier at which it is docked. That self unloading equipment is what doomed the Hulett's and similar pier based unloading equipment.
I have always felt that the pictured Star Wars 'adversary' was loosely based on the operation of the Huletts
mmi16, Wow! I never new such a thing existed. I was surprised to see where the operator is stationed. Neat how they dropped the front end loader, to help finish up.