Essar Group To Invest $8B in Steel, Including Minnesota Ore Plant
March 6, 2023
The Essar Group announced new global investments in the steel industry totaling $8 billion, including an iron pellet plant under construction in Minnesota.
That’s according to a report in India’s Business Standard.
The plant would operate under the name Mesabi Metallics, in which the report said Essar had invested $1.5 billion of a proposed $2.5 billion.
The project is a 7-million-ton per annum taconite mining and pelletization project, according to Mesabi Metallics’ website. Engineering and construction are approximately 65% and 45% complete, respectively.
The other projects include a steel plant in Saudi Arabia and an iron pellet plant in India.
Mesabi Metallics did not return a request for comment.
The company has had a complicated history with the state of Minnesota when it comes to business ventures on the state’s Mesabi Iron Range.
Recall that Essar Global promised a pellet plant and steel plant near Nashwauk, Minn. Ground was broken in 2008. But little was accomplished and rights to mineral leases were canceled in 2021 following a bankruptcy proceeding in 2016 and pressure from Cleveland-Cliffs, which has substantial operations in the region.
Ethan Bernard, ethan@steelmarketupdate.com