United Taconite Property (Thunderbird Mine North & South) Production Update: $591M NPV Over a 51-Year Mine Life
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s United Taconite Property (Thunderbird Mine North & South) in St. Louis County, Northeastern Minnesota, USA (Mesabi Iron Range, near Eveleth) has a production guidance outlining an after-tax NPV of $591M. The mine plan runs 51 years at about 5.1 MLT pellets per year.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s United Taconite Property (Thunderbird Mine North & South) has reported production guidance results for the iron ore (magnetite/taconite pellets) project in St. Louis County, Northeastern Minnesota, USA (Mesabi Iron Range, near Eveleth). The study headlines an after-tax net present value of $591M at a 10% discount rate. It reflects Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s (CLF) latest disclosed economics for the asset.
Economics. The after-tax NPV is $591M using a 10% discount rate. Economics are based on Three-year trailing average revenue of $98/WLT wet pellet; Mineral Resources/Reserves evaluated using a pellet value of US$90/LT wet standard pellet price FOB Lake Superior.
Production and mine plan. The project envisions an open-pit operation. Life of mine is 51 years. Average annual production is approximately 5.1 MLT pellets. Average head grade is 22.3% MagFe (crude ore). Metallurgical recovery averages 33.3%. The open-pit strip ratio is 1.1:1.
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 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 | 143.1 MLT | 23.1% MagFe | 49.6 MLT wet pellets |
| Probable | 631.5 MLT | 22.1% MagFe | 208.0 MLT wet pellets |
| Proven & Probable | 774.6 MLT | 22.3% MagFe | 257.6 MLT wet pellets |
| Category | Tonnage | Grade | Contained |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measured | 91.8 MLT | 23.6% MagFe | 32.5 MLT wet pellets |
| Indicated | 638.6 MLT | 22.2% MagFe | 199.2 MLT wet pellets |
| Measured & Indicated | 730.4 MLT | 22.3% MagFe | 231.8 MLT wet pellets |
| Inferred | 25.9 MLT | 21.5% MagFe | 8.0 MLT wet pellets |
Our Analysis
- NPV after-tax
- $591M
higher than 49% of 521 projects we track
- Mine life
- 51yrs
- Study price assumption
- Three-year trailing average revenue of $98/WLT wet pellet; Mineral Resources/Reserves evaluated using a pellet value of US$90/LT wet standard pellet price FOB Lake Superior
A 51-year mine life is the number that frames everything else here. This is not a development story with a defined build and a decade of production; it is an operating taconite complex on the Mesabi Iron Range, near Eveleth in St. Louis County, Minnesota, with the reserve base to keep running for half a century. That durability is the asset's core quality: long-lived, jurisdictionally straightforward, and already producing.
Against the 521 projects we track across all commodities, the after-tax NPV of $591M ranks higher than 49% of them. That is the honest read: a solid mid-table position, not an outlier in either direction. There is no headline number here that demands a re-rating on its own, and equally nothing that argues the asset is marginal. For an investor, the ranking says this is a respectable operating business rather than a call option on a development outcome.
The constraint is scale, not risk. The NPV sits well below the company's US$6.46B market cap on a rough currency-adjusted basis, and this is one of 13 projects we track for the company. That ratio cuts both ways. It can mean the market assigns little value to this particular asset within a diversified portfolio, or it can mean the group is valued on other assets entirely and this one is simply a component. Either way, the returns are not what moves the equity story.
The price assumption is the sensitivity to watch: the study uses a three-year trailing average revenue of $98/WLT wet pellet, with resources and reserves evaluated at US$90/LT wet standard pellet FOB Lake Superior. The question that decides this project is whether those pellet realisations hold across a 51-year mine life.
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.