 Minnesota leaders have approved a lease agreement with a company that intends to complete construction on a pellet plant in another facility on the Iron Range to produce high-grade iron ore. The Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Auditor approved the agreement Monday with Chippewa Capital Partners. The deal gives the Virginia-based company and its investors until August 31 to secure at least $850 million in financing. The deal revitalizes a project that stopped when SR Steele, Minnesota, went bankrupt in 2016. SR Steele broke ground on a new tachanite mine and pellet plant in 2008, but the India-based company struggled to raise the nearly $2 billion needed to build the facility and the company declared bankruptcy. DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr says the projects in this new deal will provide short-term opportunities for construction workers and long-term promise in what will be produced once it's up and running. Work on the pellet processing plant in Nashwak must begin before October and finish by December 2019. Construction on a separate production facility on the Iron Range would begin in 2018 and end by 2022. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.