MagIron Secures State of Minnesota In-Situ Iron Ore Mining Leases

GILBERT, Minn., Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MagIron LLC ("MagIron" or the "Company") today announced that it has completed five new state iron ore mining leases with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources following the approval by the State of Minnesota Executive Council on December 2, 2025. These five new iron ore mining leases grant MagIron the rights to explore, mine and process in-situ oxidized hematite iron formation located in Itasca County, Minnesota. The leases are effective January 1, 2026 for a 20-year term and cover an area of 760 acres containing at least 128 million tonnes of ore at an iron grade of 32.19%.

These new leases represent the first State-issued in-situ hematite mining leases specifically aligned with MagIron's proprietary process for upgrading oxidized iron formation into high-grade Direct Reduction ("DR") grade iron ore concentrate, a critical input for ore-based metallics needed for the growing U.S. Electric Arc Furnace ("EAF") steel sector.

Combined with MagIron's existing stockpiles, tailings, private mineral agreements, other State mineral leases and the mineral rights it owns, these new in-situ leases further strengthens the Company's long-term resource position and supports its restart plans for Plant 4, a modern past-producing concentrator designed to supply the U.S. steel industry with low-carbon, domestically sourced iron units.

Larry Lehtinen, CEO of MagIron, said: "This is another major milestone for MagIron and a strong endorsement from the State of Minnesota. For the first time, Minnesota will see the beneficiation of in-situ oxidized hematite into DR-grade concentrate—a breakthrough comparable to the early development of magnetic taconite processing nearly a century ago. These leases enhance our security of supply and supports MagIron's vision to create a long-life, multi-decade source of high-quality iron units for America's rapidly expanding EAF steel industry."

A further update will be provided as and when appropriate.

Data Verification

Mr. Reinis Sipols, QP, from Behre Dolbear, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content contained in this news release.

MagIron, LLC.
Larry Lehtinen, CEO: +1 218-349-1277
Ed Jack, Audley Capital: +44 7478 686 062 / +46 705 586 062
www.magironusa.com

About MagIron

MagIron was established to support and accelerate the decarbonization of the steel industry by becoming a key supplier of high quality, low carbon iron units which will be critical for the future success and decarbonization of the US steel industry. The Company is focused on the restart of an iron ore concentrator located near Grand Rapids, Minnesota and a pelletizing plant located near Reynolds, Indiana. Both facilities are modern, past-producing plants benefiting from over $660 million of prior investment. The facilities have previously operated at an annualized run-rate of approximately 2.2 million tonnes per annum ("mtpa") of BF grade concentrate and was designed to expand to 3.0 mtpa relatively quickly and at low capital intensity. The iron ore concentrator was originally designed to process previously discarded waste materials from historical mining operations and convert such feed materials into high grade, low impurity iron ore concentrate. Given the significant historical mining operations across the Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota, there are vast amounts of waste material and in-situ virgin oxidized iron formation in close proximity to MagIron's concentrator which are suitable as feedstock to support a multi-decade business plan.

Forward-Looking Information Cautionary Statement

Statements in this press release regarding the Company and its investments which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" which involve risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to the Company's strategy, its other current and future assets, the results of technical and feasibility studies, expected production profiles, product quality, capital and operating costs, development timelines, permitting, financing, market conditions, potential future expansion or optionality, including the ability to produce additional production, and investments and management's expectations with respect to the benefits to the Company which may be implied from such statements.

Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements, due to known and unknown risks and uncertainties affecting the Company, including but not limited to resource and reserve risks; environmental risks and costs; labor costs and shortages; operating costs; uncertain demand and supply dynamics and price fluctuations in materials; increases in energy costs; labor disputes and work stoppages; leasing costs and the availability of equipment; heavy equipment demand and availability; contractor and subcontractor performance issues; worksite safety issues; project delays and cost overruns; extreme weather conditions; social and transport disruptions; risks related to the availability of financing, permitting and regulatory approvals; construction and commissioning performance; and other factors beyond the control of MagIron. The Company assumes no responsibility to update forward-looking statements in this press release except as required by law. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release and are encouraged to read the Company's continuous disclosure documents. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement, and MagIron does not undertake any obligation to update or revise such statements except as required by applicable law.

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SOURCE MagIron LLC