Tennessee Minerals, LLC, a joint venture of Pittsburgh-based companies FeX Group, LLC, and International Commodity Distribution, Inc., announced that about 15 million tons of high-quality iron ore fines soon will be made available to steel, scrap, cement, fertilizer and other industrial manufacturers worldwide. The iron ore, located in Copperhill, Tenn., will be sold in the United States and internationally at market competitive rates.
A key component of this initiative is Tennessee Minerals' removal and transportation plan, which includes the multi-million dollar rehabilitation of a 43-mile railroad infrastructure from Copperhill to Etowah, Tenn. The rehabilitation of the former CSX rail line provides a means by which the 53-acre mountain of iron ore will be made available for shipment to a wide variety of markets. Tennessee Minerals expects to make its first shipment of iron ore in second quarter of this year.
"We believe this initiative has significant potential to become a major source of supply for numerous U.S. industries, as well as a great export opportunity to international markets," said Patrick Cunningham, president and CEO, ICD. "We have conducted an extensive sampling and quality analysis of the iron ore pile in Tennessee and found that it is consistently 65 to 68 percent high-end total iron. In addition, product samples were evaluated by major U.S. and Chinese iron ore consumers and found to be a high-quality iron ore supply. This is a remarkable level of iron content, which presents a tremendous opportunity for immediate shipment."