All this progress leaves the higher-ups at Mesabi Metallics feeling that the wind is at their backs. The calculus is especially important for the Iron Range operations planning to mine waste piles or tailings, which tend to have lower iron content and require additional work to concentrate, she added. “One of the push points to moving [purified] iron production here is that around one-third of the pellet is not iron,” Boatman said. And Mesabi Metallics would need to complete additional permitting to get permission to move forward at its own site, Boatman said. An update was made on July 27, 2026, to include that Mesabi Metallics plans to begin pellet production in September.