Company Announcements
July 14, 2026
Mesabi Metallics logs first production blast at iron ore mine
Written by Ethan Bernard
Mesabi Metallics Co. has announced the successful completion of its first production blast at its iron ore mine in Nashwauk, Minn.
The company, part of India’s Essar Group, said the move is a “defining milestone” in its desire to become the first new iron ore mine and pellet plant built in Minnesota in the last 50 years. It’s on schedule for first pellet production in the third quarter.
“This first blast is the moment this project stops being about preparation and starts being about production,” Shane Holman, general manager – mine at Mesabi Metallics, said in a statement on July 13. “The ore we blasted today will be processed into some of the highest quality DR-grade pellets in the world.”
The blast comes on the heels of Mesabi Metallics’ announcement on July 4 of the “Patriot Pellet.” This will be the brand for the highest quality direct-reduced (DR)-grade iron ore pellet produced entirely on the Iron Range, the company said.
The blast utilized a 66-hole pattern and fractured ~211,000 tons of ore in a single shot, which represents nearly half the total rock removed to make Mount Rushmore, Mesabi Metallics said.
This blast opened the first ramp into the bottom of the pit and cleared the way for 400-ton haul trucks to transport ore out of the ground for the first time.
Mesabi Metallics said it expects weekly blasting to continue as the mine moves toward full-scale production.
Recall that the US Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im) said earlier this year it would support a Mesabi Metallics iron ore project in Minnesota up to $10 billion, according to a media report.
The project has been in development in Minnesota for over 20 years. (For more background, click here.)
