US Steel Corp announced Wednesday that it has received state permits from Minnesota to expand its Mountain Iron-based Minntac taconite mine by 483 acres. The expansion, which represents a $40 million investment, will allow the facility to continue producing taconite pellets for the next 16 years.
Last week, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency issued a water quality permit for the expansion, while the Department of Natural Resources issued an updated permit to mine. However, US Steel still needs a wetlands permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers—a decision on the permit should come this spring.