Essar Steel Minnesota Targets Iron Pellet Production in 2015

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In one of the most positive developments for the U.S. Metals & Minerals Industry in 2014, Essar Steel Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary of Essar Group (Mumbai, India), has restarted work on a $1.7 billion iron ore mine and iron pellet plant near Nashwauk, Minnesota.

The project--first reported by Industrial Info in 1997--began construction in 2011, but financing troubles forced a construction delay of more than two years. Financing came through in October and the company has been paying off old debts, mobilizing contractors, and releasing bid packages on a rapid pace ever since.

First production is targeted for the second half of 2015. The project is scheduled to produce 7 million tons of iron pellets per year when the second phase is brought online in 2016. Many parts of the first and second phases of the project are being constructed together.

A third phase is being studied that would add a direct-reduced iron plant and a steel mill.

The project will mine taconite ore at the site of the former Butler Taconite Mine, which closed in 1985.

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