Essar Steel Minnesota Reports $1.1 Billion in Liabilities

Essar Steel Minnesota reported $1.1 billion in liabilities, more than five times its claimed assets, according to recent bankruptcy filings.

According to the Mesabi Daily News, Essar, and its parent company ESML Holdings, jointly filed financial disclosures in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware last Tuesday, opening the books on the Iron Range mining project, providing a look at the financial strains placed on local contractors owed millions.

Essar’s bankruptcy petition that was filed back in July reached it’s climax in a showdown between Essar and Minnesota officials, leaving the state of the Nashwauk project and state mineral leases hanging.

A total of 324 creditors have claims against the company. Nineteen area businesses are listed as having secured claims, and an additional 56 have non-priority unsecured claims against the company.

Mineral leases through the state of Minnesota are currently stuck in bankruptcy proceedings, setting up another faceoff between Gov. Mark Dayton and company officials.