Messabi Nugget project pushed back three months

The Mesabi Nugget project in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota has been pushed back by three months, due to a delay in a partnership agreement with major partner Kobe Steel. Groundbreaking on the innovative iron nugget plant was scheduled to begin this spring, but financial investors sought to include Kobe Steel, the Japanese supplier of the plant's technology, as a partner in the plant. This caused a delay in financing and closing agreements, as Kobe Steel wasn't originally going to be a partner. “We haven't broken ground yet,'' said project president Larry Lehtinen, adding that the partnership agreements had “taken longer than we expected.” Partnership agreements were made final May 5. Financing and closing agreements are slated to begin by the end of August, and construction should begin this fall and continue through winter, with production now slated for April 2008.