Current Report Filing (8-k)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

Current Report

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 30, 2021

MESABI TRUST

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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New York	1-4488	13-6022277
(State or other jurisdiction of	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification
incorporation)	​	No.)

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c/o Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas Trust & Agency Services 60 Wall Street, 24th Floor New York, New York	10005
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

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[phone]

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

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Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Units of Beneficial Interest, no par value	MSB	New York Stock Exchange

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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Item 2.02Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

Announcement of Receipt of Royalty Report and Royalty Payment

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On May 3, 2021, Mesabi Trust issued a press release announcing that Mesabi Trust received the quarterly royalty report of iron ore shipments out of Silver Bay, Minnesota during the quarter ended March 31, 2021 (the “Royalty Report”) from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (“Cliffs”), the parent company of Northshore Mining Company (“Northshore”), and received a royalty payment as summarized below.

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A copy of the press release is being furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.

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Item 7.01Regulation FD.

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Quarterly Royalty Report

On April 30, 2021, the Trustees of Mesabi Trust received the Royalty Report from Cliffs, the parent company of Northshore.

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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, 2021, Mesabi Trust was credited with a base royalty of $3,048,457.  For the three months ended March 31, 2021, Mesabi Trust was also credited with a bonus royalty in the amount of $3,658,148. The royalty also included a reduction of $557,016 as a result of negative pricing adjustments to base and bonus royalty calculations related to changes in price estimates made in prior quarters.  In addition, a royalty payment of $190,443 was paid to the Mesabi Land Trust.  Accordingly, the total royalty payments received by Mesabi Trust on April 30, 2021 from Cliffs were $6,340,032.

The royalties paid to Mesabi Trust are based on the volume of shipments of iron ore pellets for the quarter and the year to date, the pricing of iron ore product sales, and the percentage of iron ore pellet shipments from Mesabi Trust lands rather than from non-Mesabi Trust lands.  In the first calendar quarter of 2021, Cliffs credited Mesabi Trust with 919,457 tons of iron ore shipped, as compared to 340,617 tons shipped during the first calendar quarter of 2020.

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 2021, Northshore has not advised Mesabi Trust of its expected shipments of iron ore products, or what percentage of 2021 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

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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.

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, 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) 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 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.  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, 2021 (filed April 27, 2021).  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.

In accordance with general instruction B.2 to Form 8-K, the information in this Form 8-K shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section.

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Item 9.01Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release dated May 3, 2021
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104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted in Inline XBRL and included as Exhibit 101)

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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

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​	MESABI TRUST
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​	By:	/s/ Jeffrey Schoenfeld
​	​	Jeffrey Schoenfeld
​	​	Vice President
​	​	Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas,
​	​	Corporate Trustee of Mesabi Trust

Dated: May 3, 2021

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