Local media reported Wednesday that state officials in Minnesota unanimously granted US Steel a 15-month cost relief for taconite royalties that could total up to $4.5 million.
The state’s Executive Council granted the relief retroactive to April, which will reduce payments the company makes to a school trust fund and other state accounts.
US Steel currently pays 91 cents from each ton of ore, and under the relief, the company will only pay 75 cents per ton in the current fiscal quarter. US Steel executives said the relief will help the company absorb the effects of low steel prices and foreign competition.
However, the relief only applies to the first 25 million tons of taconite ore mined.