The saga goes on.
A deal announced Tuesday under which Mesabi Metallics purchased 3,200 acres of land at the site of its planned iron ore plant in Nashwauk gives the company ownership of the land, according to the company.
But it doesn t give Mesabi Metallics the ability to mine iron ore from the acquired property.
Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., holds lease rights on the property for 47 more years, Pat Persico, Cleveland-Cliffs director, corporate communications said Wednesday.
âMM s (Mesabi Metallics) announcement does not impact or affect in any manner the full control Cleveland-Cliffs has over approximately 3,800 acres of land which we own outright or for which we have lease rights through 2068,â Persico said in an email.
The company bought 3,200 acres of land from Butlertac Holdings LLC, Mesabi Metallics officials said Tuesday.
âIt brings us one step closer to completing and running a facility that will provide more than 350 well-paying operations jobs plus 800 spinoff jobs,â Larry Sutherland, Mesabi Metallics Co. LLC, president and chief executive officer said in a news release.
Butlertac Holdings is a part of Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties, LLC, according to Dale Kurschner, a Mesabi Metallics spokesman.
Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties in 2017 leased 3,200 acres to Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc.
However, Mesabi Metallics now owns the 3,200 acres, Kurschner said.
That means Cleveland-Cliffs is now leasing from Mesabi Metallics, he said.
Now that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has officially terminated a mineral lease agreement with Mesabi Metallics in Nashwauk, what happens next for the project is at the forefront
Cleveland-Cliffs filed a federal lawsuit Friday against Essar Global and its co-founder Ravi Ruia, claiming a letter penned by Ruia and published as a full page advertisement in the Star
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials told Mesabi Metallics on Wednesday that it failed to meet more conditions of an amended mineral lease agreement, striking the agencyâs most forceful tone to date on the companyâs erratic track record in Nashwauk.
The letter, obtained by the Mesabi Tribune, came on the same day Mesabi Metallics introduced its new public figurehead for the project, Larry Sutherland, who alongside parent company Essar Global said they would ask for a stay on the lease termination process and claimed another $100 million in cash would be available within 48 hours.
Assistant DNR Commissioner Jess Richards wrote in the Wednesday letter that the agency was still completing a review of the documents, but added it had enough to determine that Essarâs debt agreement was contingency based, with a non-credible lender, and claimed the parent company was holding $100 million hostage until the DNR certified the lease amendment.