Announcements
1967
The Butler Taconite mine and processing plant officially finished construction and began operations.
1985
The Hanna Mining Company announced the permanent shutdown of the Butler Taconite plant and dismantled the mine, citing the influence of foreign steel flooding domestic markets.
2003
Minnesota Steel Industries LLC (MSI) was formed to build a pellet plant, DRI plant, and steel mill at the Butler Taconite site.
2007
The State of Minnesota approved Minnesota Steel Industries’ Permit to Mine application, granting the company permission to conduct a taconite mining operation and build a processing facility in Itasca County. Permit to Mine was granted. Air emission permit was reissued and extended.
2008
Essar Steel purchased Minnesota Steel Industries in 2008 and changed their name to Essar Steel Minnesota LLC.
2010
The overburden stripping was completed within the initial defined mining area, exposing taconite in preparation for mining.
2011
The company conducted an extensive diamond-drilling program to evaluate the mineral resources within the project boundary.
2012
Met-Chem Canada Inc. completed a detailed evaluation report to NI 43-101 standards, validating and qualifying the project’s mineral resources to be 1.7 billion long tons of mineable taconite. The erection of the first piece of mining equipment, an Atlas Copco PV351 production drill, was completed and went onto the project area. Permit to Mine was amended to 7.0 MTPA. Air emission permit was extended.
2015
The first taconite production blasts were drilled and detonated at the mining site, making them the first taconite blasts since 1985.
2017
The company changed its name to Mesabi Metallics Company LLC. Tailings bridge construction concluded.
2020
DRA/MetChem Inc. completed an updated resource reserve report to NI 43-101 standards. The report validated that Mesabi Metallics has 1.7 billion metric tonnes of mineable resources and 1.3 billion metric tons of reserves, a sufficient resource to feed the projected pellet plant for several decades. This report was based on over 240,000 feet of drilling information across 749 holes.
2020
Mesabi Metallics appoints Jefferies to raise the debt financing for the project
2021
Braun Intertech completed a comprehensive study on Mesabi Metallics’s tailings basin design and concluded.
2021
Mesabi Metallics appoints BMO and Jefferies jointly to optimize the capital structure of the project.