Cargill Reaches Agreement With Magnetation, Inc. to Jointly Establish Iron Recovery Operations Worldwide

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Cargill today announced that it had reached an agreement with Magnetation, Inc. of Nashwauk, Minn. under which the companies will explore opportunities to develop and utilize Magnetation's proprietary mineral processing technology.  According to Magnetation, the patent-pending Rev 3™ Separator technology allows mining operators to recover a marketable, high-grade iron ore concentrate from low-grade hematite iron deposits, including material left behind from prior mining and mineral processing operations.  The recovered product can be sold to a variety of iron-making industry customers.

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As part of the agreement, Cargill has the exclusive, worldwide right to jointly develop and apply the technology with Magnetation, and the right to market the recovered iron concentrate to its international iron ore customers.  Cargill's financial involvement will help enable Magnetation to boost its production of recovered iron in Minnesota from 150,000 to 450,000 tons per year.  Magnetation points to the promising commercial aspects of the technology internationally, as well as to the environmental benefits in transforming iron tailings basins into functioning ecological wetlands.

"This pioneering technology generates, in essence, a new source for high-grade iron concentrate from existing resources," said Larry Lehtinen, Magnetation chief executive officer.  "Cargill's support of this iron recovery technology demonstrates the real commercial value it presents to the iron industry worldwide, as well as the promise it holds in terms of its positive environmental footprint."

"We are pleased to contribute to the advancement of what we see as next-generation technology in iron recovery," said Bob Mann, vice president of Cargill Ferrous International.  "This agreement capitalizes on Magnetation's iron recovery expertise and Cargill's international commodity merchandising and asset development capabilities."

Magnetation's proprietary recovery process uses water to convert fine tailings into a mud-like slurry that is ultimately fed through Rev3™ technology to isolate the hematite iron from nonferrous elements of tailings, primarily silica.  The recovered hematite is a high-value iron concentrate that can be used in a variety of downstream products such as sinter plant feed or blast furnace, nugget plant feed, and Direct Reduced Iron-grade pellet feed, the essential raw materials used in iron and steel-making worldwide.  The technology can also be used to upgrade freshly mined hematite ore.

About Magnetation:

Founded in 2006, privately held Magnetation, Inc. is a specialty iron ore mining company that uses proprietary mineral processing technology to recover high-grade iron ore concentrate from low-grade hematite iron resources including tailing basins, lean ore stockpiles, and virgin ore bodies.  Magnetation's technology development efforts began in 2008 at its first plant ("Plant 1"), located near Keewatin, Minn., which is expected to reach its full capacity of 450,000 metric tonnes per year by June 2011.  Magnetation shipped the first concentrate from Plant 1 in February 2009.  For more information, visit: www.magnetation.com.

About Cargill:

Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services.  Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 131,000 people in 66 countries.  Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to applying its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business.  For more information, visit www.cargill.com.

SOURCE Cargill