Kobe Steel: US-based Mesabi plant to reach full capacity in H2

Major Japanese steel producer Kobe Steel Corp. has stated that the Minnesota, US-based Mesabi iron nugget plant is likely to reach full production capacity in the second half of the current year.
 
The Mesabi iron nugget plant came on stream in January 2010. Since then, it has been operating at 80 percent capacity utilization rate due to technological issues. The designed annual production capacity of the plant is 500,000 mt.
 
The Mesabi plant is a joint venture of US steel producer Steel Dynamics and Kobe Steel, with Steel Dynamics holding an 81 percent stake. It is the first plant in the world to commercially produce iron nuggets using the ITmk3 technology developed by Kobe Steel.