VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – US iron-ore producer Cliffs Natural Resources on Tuesday started production of the new Mustang superflux pellet at its United Taconite mine, in Minnesota.
The start-up of new production equipment, including supporting infrastructure, occurred on schedule after nine months of construction, and represents an investment of $75-million.
“Building a new facility on budget, without any lost-time accidents, and in only nine months through the Minnesota winter, is no small undertaking, one that only the Cliffs team can accomplish. As we have done time and time again, Cliffs has confirmed why we have been in the Iron Range for so many years, and why we have earned the right to continue to be in the Range for the years to come,” chairperson, president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves stated in a press release Tuesday.
Cliffs will host a ribbon cutting event for the new facility at United Taconite on May 30.
The investment included a new storage facility, silos, a limestone crusher, conveyors and rail infrastructure to support the production of the Mustang pellet. Construction required 120 people at the peak, which included management, craft and labour.
According to Cliffs, the superflux pellet to be produced at United Taconite will contain higher levels of limestone, and it converts from a solid to a liquid state at a faster rate once inside a blast furnace.
According to Cliffs, the superflux pellet to be produced at United Taconite will contain higher levels of limestone, and it converts from a solid to a liquid state at a faster rate once inside a blast furnace.
Goncalves has previously stated that once its new facilities are in operation, about 40% of the United Taconite output will be Mustang pellets, much of it intended for customer ArcelorMittal.