Essar Steel Minnesota Closes Financing for 7 MTPA Pellet Project
10/09/2014 - Essar Steel Minnesota LLC (ESML) has succeeded in reaching a major financial milestone by closing the financing to complete construction of its fully permitted open-pit iron ore mine, crushing, concentrating and pelletizing facilities, which will have an annual pellet production capacity of 7 million tons.
With this financing in place, ESML will now aggressively ramp up procurement activities and construction activities at the project site. In the next 30 to 60 days, construction activities at the ESML site will focus on completion of foundational and concrete work before the winter freeze-up. ESML also anticipates extensive construction activities continuing at the project site during the winter months with the focus on erecting steel for numerous structures at the site, installation of sheeting on buildings and the installation of numerous pieces of machinery and equipment in the facilities. ESML anticipates commencing production of taconite pellets in the second half of 2015.
ESML has already invested approximately US$1 billion in the project to date. Other highlights of the ESML project:
Madhu Vuppuluri, ESML’s president and CEO, commented: “This truly is a momentous occasion for our company and for the Iron Range as we now have in place the necessary financing to complete this historic project which will be a tremendous economic engine to the benefit of the Iron Range and its residents for the next several decades. By having completed the necessary financing for this project, we look forward to moving aggressively toward project completion and commencement of production. We thank the community for their continued support for the project.”
Essar Steel Minnesota LLC is an iron ore producer engaged in the development of a 7 million ton per annum fully-integrated pellet production facility in the western Mesabi Range in northern Minnesota. When completed, the US$ 1.8 billion project will consist of an open-pit iron ore mine, crushing, concentrating and pelletizing facilities and a rail line and train-loading system. ESML has an aggregate of approximately 1.8 billion tons of measured and indicated magnetite iron resources, of which approximately 1.7 billion tons are classified as proven or probable reserves, and an additional 0.2 billion tons of inferred magnetite iron resources. These estimates are based on ESML’s NI 43-101 report.
ESML has already invested approximately US$1 billion in the project to date. Other highlights of the ESML project:
- A US$ 1.8 billion capital investment in the Mesabi Iron Range region of Minnesota. The largest economic development project on the Iron Range in over four decades.
- A mine life of over 70 years which will support three generations of miners and their families.
- The only facility in the United States with the flexibility to produce standard, fluxed and DR grade pellets.
- The project is estimated to generate approximately US$ 180 million per year in new tax revenues for the State of Minnesota at full capacity production.
- The company expects hundreds of local construction workers to be engaged at the site over the next year and also expects to hire hundreds of new employees for the company as it transitions into operations and production.
Madhu Vuppuluri, ESML’s president and CEO, commented: “This truly is a momentous occasion for our company and for the Iron Range as we now have in place the necessary financing to complete this historic project which will be a tremendous economic engine to the benefit of the Iron Range and its residents for the next several decades. By having completed the necessary financing for this project, we look forward to moving aggressively toward project completion and commencement of production. We thank the community for their continued support for the project.”
Essar Steel Minnesota LLC is an iron ore producer engaged in the development of a 7 million ton per annum fully-integrated pellet production facility in the western Mesabi Range in northern Minnesota. When completed, the US$ 1.8 billion project will consist of an open-pit iron ore mine, crushing, concentrating and pelletizing facilities and a rail line and train-loading system. ESML has an aggregate of approximately 1.8 billion tons of measured and indicated magnetite iron resources, of which approximately 1.7 billion tons are classified as proven or probable reserves, and an additional 0.2 billion tons of inferred magnetite iron resources. These estimates are based on ESML’s NI 43-101 report.
