State agency says additional requirements not met, continues lease termination.
1:22 pm, May 21, 2021
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A crane sits next to the partly constructed Mesabi Metallics pelletizing building. (2018 file / News Tribune)
DULUTH -- Minnesota regulators reiterated their plans to strip leases from Mesabi Metallics, the proposed iron ore mine and half-built processing plant in Nashwauk, calling the company's lender not credible and discrediting its excuse for not putting up enough cash on time.
In a letter to the company Wednesday, May 19, DNR Assistant Commissioner Jess Richards said the company's claim that its funder — Mumbai, India-based Essar — could only provide $100 million — half the required amount — in immediately available funds by a May 1 deadline because of the COVID-19 crisis in India was "a deliberate choice" and "not bad fortune."