Nashwauk, MN (United States), March 31 (IANS) Mesabi Metallics Company LLC (Mesabi Metallics), backed by the Essar Group, on Tuesday announced that it has entered into a new 520 million dollar senior secured credit facility with Valor Mining Credit Partners II, L.P. (VMP II), a dedicated mining and critical minerals credit fund managed by Breakwall Capital LP (Breakwall) in partnership with Vitol, as it advances toward commercial operations later this year.

Located on more than 16,000 acres in northern Minnesota, Mesabi Metallics is completing a 2.5 billion dollar world-scale merchant Direct Reduction (DR) grade iron ore mine and pellet plant that will onshore a strategically important segment of the United States steel supply chain.

With over 750 construction workers currently onsite, the project represents one of the largest private-sector industrial investments in the state’s history.

Essar Group has already invested over 2 billion dollars of equity into the project. The project has also received support from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM), underscoring growing federal recognition of the project’s strategic importance to U.S. manufacturing and supply chain security for the American manufacturing, automobile, infrastructure, shipbuilding and defense sectors.

“The partnership with Breakwall is an important milestone for Mesabi Metallics,” said Joe Broking, President and CEO of Mesabi Metallics.

“We are bringing to market a brand-new American source of the highest quality DR-grade iron ore that will help U.S. steelmakers reduce reliance on imported raw materials and international supply chains. America is already the global leader in the next generation Electric Arc Furnace-based steelmaking — the cleanest and most energy efficient way of making steel. Mesabi Metallics will create hundreds of high-quality jobs in northern Minnesota for several decades to come and will support the reshoring of American industrial dominance,” he added.

“Mesabi Metallics is a great example of the type of high-quality company and large-scale mining project we seek to partner on — anchored by a long-life resource in an advanced stage of development, with strategic importance to critical industrial development. We look forward to building upon this partnership with Mesabi Metallics and supporting them in their journey,” said Daniel Flannery, President and Managing Partner of Breakwall.

“This deal further demonstrates the breadth of our partnership with Vitol, combining credit solutions with global resource marketing acumen, to deliver a multitude of solutions for top-tier companies like Mesabi Metallics and world-class operators like the Essar Group,” added Jamie Brodsky, Co-CEO and Managing Partner of Breakwall.

--IANS

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