The Minnesota Executive Council approved state mineral leases of more than 2,600 acres of iron ore at the Nashwauk mine site in Itasca County, Minnesota on May 25, 2023. The approval is a final action and Cleveland-Cliffs has now assumed these leases.
“Today’s approval of these leases by the Minnesota Executive Council resolves years of uncertainty regarding Hibbing Taconite’s mine life,” said Cleveland-Cliffs’ CEO Lourenco Goncalves, stated. “Cleveland-Cliffs will immediately begin the work necessary to develop this quality ore body as an extension of Hibbing Taconite. The state’s mineral leases, combined with our own private mineral holdings at Nashwauk acquired by Cleveland-Cliffs in 2017, will provide more than two decades of additional ore reserves for Hibbing Taconite, preserving hundreds of good paying union jobs, and ensure a continued supply of iron-ore pellets for Cleveland-Cliffs’ steel mills.”
