The July 10 blast had a 66-hole structure and fractured approximately 211,000 tons of ore at a time. He opened the first ramp to the bottom of the pit, making way for 400-tonne dump trucks to transport ore. Mesabi Metallics said weekly blasting is expected to continue as the mine approaches full-scale production.
The project could be the first new iron ore and pellet plant built in Minnesota in 50 years, representing an investment of about $2.5 billion and creating 350 permanent jobs. The facility is expected to be one of the few large domestic producers of direct reduced (DR-grade) salable iron ore pellets in North America with a 23-year mine life. According to data provided by royalty owner The Metals Royalty Company Inc. (TMCR), the project has a design capacity of 7.28 million tons per year, with a near-term capacity of up to 8.5 million tons per year.
The explosion follows the July 4 launch by Mesabi Metallics of “Patriot Pellet,” a brand of what the company calls the highest quality DR-grade iron ore pellets produced entirely on the Iron Range in Minnesota. The company views the project as part of a broader strategy to rebuild critical steel supply chains by reducing U.S. dependence on foreign DR grade ore used to supply the country's steel, shipbuilding and defense industrial base.
“This first explosion is the point at which this project will stop being about preparation and start being about production. The ore we blasted today will be processed into the highest quality pellets in the world,” said Shane Holman, CEO of the Mesabi Metallics mine.
Joe Brocking, CEO of Mesabi Metallics, said, “Every ton of ore produced from this mine represents American jobs, American investment and American potential back to work... We are committed to investing in Iron backbone to continue to power America's steel industry, America's shipyards, and America's defense industrial base."
