The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's citizens' board approved an air emissions permit Tuesday for US Steel's proposed Keetac taconite (a low grade form of iron ore) plant expansion in Minnesota.
While US Steel still needs both a water pollution and wetlands permit before construction can begin on the facility, the air pollutions permit brings the steelmaker one step closer to its plans to expand the facility and to eventually have more control over its raw material costs. The $300 million expansion project would increase production capacity at the Keetac location from 6 million tons per year to about 9.6 million tons per year.