Mesabi Trust (NYSE: MSB):
Receipt of Quarterly Royalty Report and
Royalty Payment
On April 29, 2022, the Trustees of Mesabi Trust (NYSE: MSB)
received the quarterly royalty report of iron ore shipments from
Silver Bay, Minnesota during the quarter ended March 31, 2022 (the
“Royalty Report”) from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (“Cliffs”), the parent
company of Northshore Mining Company (“Northshore”).
As reported to Mesabi Trust by Cliffs in the Royalty Report,
based on shipments of iron ore products by Northshore during the
three months ended March 31, 2022, Mesabi Trust was credited with a
base royalty of $6,032,086. For the three months ended March 31,
2022, Mesabi Trust was also credited with a bonus royalty in the
amount of $7,055,223. The royalty payment received today also
included an increase of $176,283 as a result of positive pricing
adjustments to base and bonus royalty calculations related to
changes in price estimates made in prior quarters. In addition, a
royalty payment of $278,850 was paid to the Mesabi Land Trust.
Accordingly, the total royalty payments received by Mesabi Trust on
April 29, 2022 from Cliffs were $13,542,442.
The royalties paid to Mesabi Trust are based on the volume of
iron ore pellets and other products produced or shipped during the
quarter and the year to date, the pricing of iron ore product
sales, and the percentage of iron ore pellet production and
shipments from Mesabi Trust lands rather than from non-Mesabi Trust
lands. In the first calendar quarter of 2022, Cliffs credited
Mesabi Trust with 1,069,456 tons of iron ore shipped, as compared
to 919,457 tons shipped during the first calendar quarter of
2021.
The volume of shipments of iron ore pellets (and other iron ore
products) by Northshore varies from quarter to quarter and year to
year based on a number of factors, including the requested delivery
schedules of customers, general economic conditions in the iron ore
industry, and weather conditions on the Great Lakes. Further, the
prices under the term contracts among Northshore, Cliffs, and
certain of their customers (the “Cliffs Pellet Agreements”), to
which Mesabi Trust is not a party, are subject to interim and final
pricing adjustments, dependent in part on multiple price and
inflation index factors, some of which are not known until after
the end of a contract year. The factors that could result in price
adjustments under Cliffs’ customer contracts include changes in the
Platts Prices, hot-rolled coil steel price, the Atlantic Basin
pellet premium, published Platts international indexed freight
rates and changes in specified producer price indices, including
those for industrial commodities, fuel and steel. These multiple
factors can result in significant variations in royalties received
by Mesabi Trust (and in turn, the resulting funds available for
distribution to Unitholders by Mesabi Trust) from quarter to
quarter and from year to year. These variations, which can be
positive or negative, cannot be predicted by the Trustees of Mesabi
Trust. Royalty payments anticipated to be received during the
current year will continue to reflect pricing estimates for
shipments of iron ore products that will be subject to positive or
negative pricing adjustments pursuant to the Cliffs Pellet
Agreements. Based on the above factors, and as indicated by Mesabi
Trust’s historical distribution payments, the royalties received by
Mesabi Trust, and the distributions paid to Unitholders, if any, in
any particular quarter are not necessarily indicative of royalties
that will be received, or distributions that will be paid, if any,
in any subsequent quarter or full year.
With respect to calendar year 2022, Northshore has not advised
Mesabi Trust of its expected shipments of iron ore products, or
what percentage of 2022 shipments will be from Mesabi Trust iron
ore. In the Cliffs’ Royalty Report, Cliffs stated that the royalty
payments being reported today were based on estimated iron ore
pellet prices under the Cliffs Pellet Agreements, which are subject
to change. It is possible that future negative price adjustments
could offset, or even eliminate, royalties or royalty income that
would otherwise be payable to Mesabi Trust in any particular
quarter, or at year end, thereby potentially reducing cash
available for distribution to Mesabi Trust’s Unitholders in future
quarters.
Commencement of Idling at Northshore
Mining Company
As previously projected by Cliffs, on May 1, 2022 Cliffs
commenced the idling of Northshore Mining Company at its operations
in Babbitt and Silver Bay, Minnesota. Cliffs’ previous disclosures
announced the idling would be for approximately four months, until
at least fall 2022, and maybe beyond.
References in this Press
Release
All references in this discussion and in this Press Release to
iron ore products “shipped” shall include iron ore products that
are actually shipped from Silver Bay, Minnesota and/or “deemed
shipped” as referenced by the parties to, and in accordance with,
the Amended Assignment of Peters Lease. Similarly, all references
in this Press Release to “shipments” shall include actual shipments
and/or deemed shipments of iron ore products, as referenced by the
parties to, and in accordance with, the Amended Assignment of
Peters Lease. After the outcome of the AAA arbitration (announced
in October 8, 2021) and consistent with Cliffs’ practices, the
Trust is entitled to payment upon production of pellets to be sold
for internal use by facilities owned by Cliffs or its subsidiaries.
As a result, the Trust recognizes revenue for Cliffs’ internal use
pellets upon production of those pellets, which are deemed to be
shipped under the Amended Assignment of Peters Lease, regardless of
pellet grade. Pellets that are not designated for internal use by
Cliffs, or its subsidiaries, continue to be recognized as revenue
upon shipment from Silver Bay, Minnesota.
Other Available Information
Mesabi Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the fiscal year
ended January 31, 2022, which includes the audited financial
statements of Mesabi Trust, was filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on April 27, 2022. Mesabi Trust Unitholders may
obtain a hard copy of the complete audited financial statements,
which is included as Exhibit 13 to Mesabi Trust’s Annual Report,
free of charge upon request to Mesabi Trust’s Corporate Trustee,
at:
Mesabi Trust c/o Deutsche Bank Trust Company
Americas, Corporate Trustee Trust and Agency Services — GDS 1
Columbus Circle, 17th Floor New York, NY 10019 (904) 271-2520
Unitholders can also directly access the audited financial
statements of Mesabi Trust by navigating to Mesabi Trust’s website
at www.Mesabi-Trust.com and clicking on the Edgar Filings (SEC)
link under the Menu to the right of the SEC Filings page by
scrolling down to the desired Annual Report on Form 10‑K under
Exhibit 13 thereof, beginning on page F‑1 of each such Report.
Forward-Looking
Statements
This report contains certain forward-looking statements with
respect to iron ore pellet production, iron ore pricing and
adjustments to pricing, shipments by Northshore in 2021 and 2022,
royalty (including bonus royalty) amounts, and other matters, which
statements are intended to be made under the safe harbor
protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, as amended. Actual production, prices, price adjustments, and
shipments of iron ore pellets, as well as actual royalty payments
(including bonus royalties), and the timing and duration of Cliffs’
idling of Northshore Mining Company at its operations in Babbitt
and Silver Bay, Minnesota, could differ materially from current
expectations due to inherent risks and uncertainties such as
general adverse business and industry economic trends,
uncertainties arising from war, terrorist events, the impact of the
recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and other global events,
higher or lower customer demand for steel and iron ore, decisions
by mine operators regarding curtailments or idling production lines
or entire plants, environmental compliance uncertainties,
difficulties in obtaining and renewing necessary operating permits,
higher imports of steel and iron ore substitutes, processing
difficulties, consolidation and restructuring in the domestic steel
market, market inputs tied to indexed price adjustment factors
found in Cliffs Pellet Agreements resulting in future adjustments
to royalties payable to Mesabi Trust and other factors. Further,
substantial portions of royalties earned by Mesabi Trust are based
on estimated prices that are subject to interim and final
adjustments, which can be positive or negative, and are dependent
in part on multiple price and inflation index factors under
agreements to which Mesabi Trust is not a party and that are not
known until after the end of a contract year. In addition, the
Trust is unable to predict the duration of the current idling of
Northshore, or the frequency and duration of future Northshore
idling actions that Cliffs may implement. Future production
curtailments or idling of Northshore operations, about which the
Trust may have little or no prior notice, could materially
adversely affect the royalty income of the Trust, as well as the
resulting cash available for distribution by the Trust to
Unitholders. Further, such developments could have a material
adverse impact on the market price of the Trust’s Units. Although
the Mesabi Trustees believe that any such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ materially. Additional information concerning
these and other risks and uncertainties is contained in Mesabi
Trust’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
January 31, 2022 (filed April 27, 2022). Mesabi Trust undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any of the forward-looking
statements made herein to reflect events or circumstances after the
date hereof.
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Mesabi Trust SHR Unit Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas
904-271-2520
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