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Construction Slowdown at Essar Steel Minnesota

January 21, 2014

Essar officials are working to find additional financing for the $1.7 billion Essar Steel Minnesota taconite plant under construction in Nashwauk, Minn. Construction of the plant has slowed with workers on the job reduced by more than half, down from an average of 150-200 to 74, according to reports by the Duluth News Tribune.

The plant, originally slated for completion in 2014 was delayed until 2015. Essar said it working with contractors to reduce activity to only critical tasks until financing is complete. The slowdown is expected for the next few months until weather conditions improve and funding arrives.

Essar Steel Minnesota is a state-of-the-art open pit mining, concentrating and pelletizing plant under construction on the western end of the Biwabik Iron Formation in the Mesabi Range. Construction began in 2010 and upon completion ESML expects to have an annual capacity of 7 million tons of pellets per year.

Essar Steel Minnesota signed a ten year agreement last February to supply 3.5 billion metric tonnes of standard and fluxed iron ore pellets annually to ArcelorMittal’s North American operations.