With an average of 400 union construction workers on site every day, the Mesabi Metallics project made major progress in Q2
[NASHWAUK, MN] – Mesabi Metallics Company LLC (Mesabi Metallics) this week announced several construction milestones completed by hundreds of union construction workers over the second quarter of 2025 in Nashwauk, Minnesota. The project is on track for completion in the first quarter of 2026 and will be Minnesota’s first new mine in 50 years.
“The second quarter marked a pivotal phase in our construction efforts,” said Joe Broking, President & CEO of Mesabi Metallics. “We achieved major structural milestones, ramped up our progress and maintained the highest safety standards every single day. This momentum reflects our team’s drive and commitment. We’re not just building a facility—we’re laying the foundation for long-term economic growth and innovation in Minnesota’s, and our nation’s, Green Steel industry.”
Construction milestones in the second quarter of 2025 include:
- The conveyor galleyway between the grizzly and the secondary crusher building is fully installed (photo attached). This galleyway, totaling 996 feet long and standing at 169 feet tall, is designed to move 92,760 metric tons of ore per day, utilizing 1,250 horsepower. In addition, the galleyway between the grizzly and the coarse ore storage building is well underway. The galleyways transport ore across Mesabi Metallics’ site as it moves from building to building to for further refinement into Direct Reduction (DR) grade pellets.
- At the air pollution control building, all eight lower precyclone hoppers are installed (photo attached). Mesabi Metallics is utilizing the best-available air pollution control systems to ensure emissions are kept to a bare minimum. Within the giant, 20-foot diameter hoppers, centrifugal and inertial forces separate particulate from air streams as it spirals through the cyclone.
- Inside the concentrator, the most sophisticated building on site, the primary screens, secondary screens (photo attached) and magnetic separators (photo attached) for line 1 have been set into place. These screens and separators size the ore and separate the iron from impurities. Of the six grinding mills inside the concentrator (two per each of the concentrator’s three lines), the second line autogenous mill has been lowered into its cradle and the gear on the first line balling mill has been fully aligned and installed (photo attached). The gear, weighing in at 162,000 pounds, will turn the mill as its powered by the 9,000-horsepower motor.
- The main 13.8 kV power feed from the concentrator substation to the motor control center to power grinding line 1 has been fully charged, tested and ready to power the grinding line.
On any given day, approximately 400 union contractors are on site moving Mesabi Metallics’ construction forward. These include union workers from the Iron Workers, Laborers, Boilermakers, Electrical Workers, Millwrights, Plumbing and Pipefitters, Bricklayers, Operators, Roofers and Carpenters. As a responsible operator in Minnesota dedicated to the wellbeing of workers, Mesabi Metallics prepays all of its contractors in advance every month.
###
About Mesabi Metallics Company LLC
Mesabi Metallics Company LLC, an Essar Group company, is constructing a state-of-the-art mine to support a seven million ton per year beneficiation plant and a seven million ton per year pellet plant to produce premium Direct Reduction (DR) grade pellets, with multiple decades of resources over 16,000 acres in Nashwauk, Minnesota. Once completed, it will be the first new mine and pellet plant in Minnesota in almost 50 years. Mesabi’s DR grade iron ore pellets will be strategically positioned to meet the demand of the Electric Arc Furnace market, ensuring supply chain security for DR grade iron pellets in the United States and replacing foreign imported pellets. The endeavor is one of the largest private sector investments in Minnesota. Mesabi Metallics has invested over $1.9 billion in the project and will further invest $500 million to complete the project in the first quarter of 2026 and begin commercial operations.
Mesabi Metallics is dedicated to being a positive force in the community. The company minimizes its environmental footprint through innovative practices and efficient resource management, with an eye toward enabling the production of decarbonized Green Steel. Mesabi also proudly partners with Iron Range communities to support local projects and priorities, participating in educational initiatives, development programs and environmental stewardship efforts.
