Minorca Property Feasibility Study: $70M NPV Over a 14-Year Mine Life
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s Minorca Property in St. Louis County, Northeastern Minnesota, USA (Mesabi Iron Range; Laurentian and East pits) has a Feasibility Study outlining an after-tax NPV of $70M. The mine plan runs 14 years at about 2.8 MLT wet flux pellets per year.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s Minorca Property has reported Feasibility Study results for the iron (magnetite/taconite pellets) project in St. Louis County, Northeastern Minnesota, USA (Mesabi Iron Range; Laurentian and East pits). The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $70M at a 10% discount rate. It reflects Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s (CLF) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $70M using a 10% discount rate. Economics are based on US$90/LT wet flux pellet (62.5% Fe) for Mineral Resource/Reserve pit optimization; US$98/WLT pellet three-year trailing average revenue used in economic analysis.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 14 years. Average annual production is approximately 2.8 MLT wet flux pellets. Average head grade is 23.8% MagFe (crude ore). Metallurgical recovery averages 34.1%. The open-pit strip ratio is 0.8.
Resources and ownership. The company holds a 100% interest in the project.
These figures are extracted from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s technical disclosures and reflect the most recent Feasibility Study 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 | 102.8 MLT | 23.7% MagFe | 35.0 MLT wet pellets |
| Probable | 6.8 MLT | 25.1% MagFe | 2.5 MLT wet pellets |
| Proven & Probable | 109.7 MLT | 23.8% MagFe | 37.4 MLT wet pellets |
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 484.3 MLT | 22.9% MagFe | 159.3 MLT wet pellets |
| Indicated | 317.2 MLT | 22.9% MagFe | 104.4 MLT wet pellets |
| Measured & Indicated | 801.5 MLT | 22.9% MagFe | 263.7 MLT wet pellets |
| Inferred | 30.1 MLT | 21.1% MagFe | 9.1 MLT wet pellets |
Our Analysis
- NPV after-tax
- $70M
higher than 9% of 515 projects we track
- Mine life
- 14yrs
- Study price assumption
- US$90/LT wet flux pellet (62.5% Fe) for Mineral Resource/Reserve pit optimization; US$98/WLT pellet three-year trailing average revenue used in economic analysis
This filing does not change the numbers, it changes their standing. The after-tax NPV and the mine life are both flat against the 2021 production study, but the work has moved to feasibility level, the build-ready estimate normally carried at a plus or minus 15% band. So the same $70M after-tax NPV now arrives with more weight behind it than it did five years ago. A flat headline at a higher study tier is a genuine upgrade in confidence, but it is also a signal that the earlier estimate was not conservative: the intervening work validated the concept rather than improving it.
The absolute number is the problem. An after-tax NPV of $70M ranks above only 9% of the 515 projects we track across all commodities. Set that against a US$6.28B market cap and the project is immaterial to the equity story: it sits well below the company's value even on rough currency-adjusted terms, and it is one of 12 projects in a diversified portfolio. Nothing here turns on this asset. The economics rest on the study's own pellet assumptions, US$90 per long ton wet flux pellet for pit optimisation and a US$98 per wet long ton three-year trailing average for the economic analysis, and those are the sensitivity that matters: a 14-year mine life has to be underwritten on pellet realisations holding near those levels, and the study offers no lower case to test how quickly the NPV erodes if they do not.
The jurisdiction is the quieter positive. Northeastern Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range is established mining country with existing taconite infrastructure, and the Laurentian and East pits sit inside it. That reduces permitting and execution risk relative to a greenfield iron project elsewhere, though it does not change the arithmetic. The question that decides this project is not whether it can be built, but whether a $70M NPV asset can justify capital and management attention inside a company of this size.
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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