23 December 2009Essar Steel Minnesota project moving forward
About 34 construction workers operating bulldozers, dump trucks and excavators are busy completing work on a transportation corridor at the $1.65 billion Essar Steel Minnesota taconite, direct-reduced iron and steel slab mill near Nashwauk.
Construction of the corridor, which will serve as a road, rail connection and pipeline route between the Essar Steel Minnesota concentrator and pellet plant, is expected to be complete near the end of January.
The blasting and removal of rock to make way for the concentrator and pellet plant foundations is scheduled for spring. Essar Steel Minnesota plans to have several buildings enclosed by next fall.
The Essar Steel Minnesota project, supported by Iron Range Resources and the state of Minnesota, will create 2,000 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs.