Hibbing Taconite Property (HibTac) Production Update: $269M NPV Over a 5-Year Mine Life
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s Hibbing Taconite Property (HibTac) in St. Louis and Itasca Counties, Northeastern Minnesota (Mesabi Iron Range), USA has a production guidance outlining an after-tax NPV of $269M. The mine plan runs 5 years at about 6.3 MWLT pellets per year.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s Hibbing Taconite Property (HibTac) has reported production guidance results for the iron ore (taconite pellets) project in St. Louis and Itasca Counties, Northeastern Minnesota (Mesabi Iron Range), USA. The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $269M at a 10% discount rate. It reflects Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s (CLF) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $269M using a 10% discount rate. Economics are based on Three-Year Trailing Average Revenue $98/WLT pellet (wet pellets, 65% Fe standard equivalent).
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 5 years. Average annual production is approximately 6.3 MWLT pellets. Average head grade is 18.7% MagFe (crude ore); 2021 mine design average 17.7% crude MagFe. Metallurgical recovery averages 25.5%. The open-pit strip ratio is 1.0 (waste units to crude ore units).
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 85.3% interest in the project.
These figures are extracted from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s technical disclosures and reflect the most recent Production Update on file. Compare this project against other developers and producers in our project economics database, and always verify the numbers against the original technical report before making any investment decision.
Reserves & Resources
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proven | 100.1 MLT | 18.7% MagFe | 25.5 MWLT wet pellets |
| Probable | 9.1 MLT | 18.7% MagFe | 2.3 MWLT wet pellets |
| Proven & Probable | 109.3 MLT | 18.7% MagFe | 27.8 MWLT wet pellets |
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 10.1 MLT | 19.2% MagFe | 2.6 MWLT pellets |
| Indicated | 0.6 MLT | 18.7% MagFe | 0.1 MWLT pellets |
| Measured & Indicated | 10.7 MLT | 19.2% MagFe | 2.7 MWLT pellets |
Our Analysis
- NPV after-tax
- $269M
higher than 32% of 537 projects we track
- Mine life
- 5yrs
- Study price assumption
- Three-Year Trailing Average Revenue $98/WLT pellet (wet pellets, 65% Fe standard equivalent)
This is not a study at all in the usual sense: it is an operating mine, and the numbers describe a business already running rather than a promoter's projection. That matters more than any single figure, because the confidence attached to an operating asset's economics is a different order from a scoping exercise. Against the previous filing, the after-tax NPV is unchanged and mine life is unchanged. A revision that moves nothing is worth reading carefully: it tells you the earlier work has held up, and that the intervening years have not added reserves, extended the schedule, or shifted the cost base enough to register.
The scale is modest and the horizon is short. Five years of mine life on an after-tax NPV of $269M places this in the lower tier of the 537 projects we track, ahead of only about a third of them. That ranking is the honest frame for the asset: a solid, cash-generative operation with a defined and limited runway, not a growth story. The $98 per wet tonne pellet assumption is a three-year trailing average, which smooths the iron ore cycle rather than betting on a recovery, and the returns should be read as sensitive to that averaging window rather than to any single year's pricing.
Funding risk is close to irrelevant here, which is the quiet advantage of an operating asset. A US$6.95B market capitalisation against a $269M NPV means the project is a small component of a diversified portfolio of 16 tracked assets, and there is no build to finance, no dilution to absorb, no permitting gate to clear. Minnesota's Mesabi Range is established mining jurisdiction with existing infrastructure and a trained workforce. The question that decides this one is simple: what happens at year five, when the orebody runs out and the NPV stops being replenished?
Our take, benchmarked against the project economics in the Mining Stocks database. Figures are estimates drawn from company technical reports — not investment advice; always verify against the source filing.
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