en.Wedoany.com Reported - Mining royalty company Metals Royalty Company (TMCR) has disclosed the construction progress of the $2.5 billion DR-grade iron ore project by US mining firm Mesabi Metallics. As of May 31, 2026, the overall engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) completion rate stands at 95.5%, with engineering design at 99.0%, procurement at 99.3%, and construction at 91.4%. TMCR stated that all long-lead equipment has arrived on site, all 110 quality assurance plans have been approved, and the project's first production line (Line 1) is targeted to begin commissioning in July-August 2026, with the overall schedule still on track for production startup in the second half of 2026.

This progress update comes from a recent site inspection of the Mesabi project by TMCR management. TMCR holds a royalty interest in the project but does not operate or control project construction or financing. TMCR believes that upon completion, the project is expected to become one of the few significant domestic commercial DR-grade iron ore pellet producers in North America, leveraging its ore body, processing facilities, and location in the US Midwest to serve the domestic steel supply chain.

The Mesabi Metallics project is located in the core area of the Mesabi Iron Range in the United States, one of the country's most important iron ore resource bases. The project has resources of approximately 1.3 billion tons, with the ore type primarily magnetite and an average raw ore iron grade of about 25%–30% Fe. The project includes supporting beneficiation and pelletizing capacity of 7 million tons per year, capable of producing DR-grade pellets with an iron grade of over 67%, primarily used for electric arc furnace steelmaking and direct reduced iron (DRI) production. A June 2026 project site photo from the Mesabi website shows that surface facilities related to the mine, beneficiation, and pelletizing are still under construction and refinement. If subsequent commissioning and ramp-up proceed smoothly, it will increase the supply of domestic DR-grade pellets in North America.