Key highlights
- Mesabi Metallics secured $150 million financing from Macquarie Group.
- Mesabi also closed a $520 million senior secured credit facility with Breakwall Capital.
- The $2.5 billion project will build a world-scale Direct Reduction (DR) grade iron ore mine and pellet plant on 16,000+ acres in Nashwauk, Minnesota, targeting Q3 2026 start.
- Essar Group has invested over $2 billion of equity into the project and more than 800 construction workers are currently onsite.
Financing
Mesabi Metallics secured $150 million from Macquarie Group and earlier closed a $520 million senior secured credit facility with Breakwall Capital; the project has also received support from the U.S. Export‑Import Bank.
Project scope and schedule
The company is constructing a $2.5 billion, world‑scale Direct Reduction (DR) grade iron ore mine and pellet plant on more than 16,000 acres in Nashwauk, Minnesota, targeting startup in Q3 2026 to supply DR‑grade pellets to electric arc furnaces.
Current status and strategic role
Over 800 construction workers are onsite; Essar Group has invested more than $2 billion of equity, and the project is intended to strengthen U.S. steel supply chains and reduce reliance on imported DR pellets for manufacturing, automotive, shipbuilding and defense sectors.
