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Updated: 2:23 PM- CEDAR CITY - A Utah mining company will sell iron ore to China, helping boost this southern Utah town's fortunes.
Palladon Iron Corp. says it sealed a five-year contract to send 2 million metric tons of iron ore a year to China Kingdom International Minerals & Metals Co. Ltd.
Parent company Palladon Ventures Inc. bought the defunct iron-ore mine, 20 miles west of Cedar City, from bankrupt Geneva Steel in 2006.
The mine, which last operated in the late 1970s, could reopen later this year.
''This agreement enables us to begin production because we now have a buyer," said Palladon Vice President Frank Dolce.
''There's still a lot of work to be done, with transportation being the largest factor with use of the rails and solidifying a port on the West Coast, but we're closer," he said.
Mayor Gerald Sherratt said mining once generated half of Iron County's property-tax revenue, then left the region in an economic slump when it largely shut down decades ago.
''While we hate to see our resources going to China, every little bit helps," he said.
He said the mining will bring high-paying jobs and more tourists to Cedar City.
The company installed an electric substation and is looking at building a smelter to turn the iron ore into metal.
''It's been a long time coming, and we're very excited that the project is moving forward because we know what the mines have meant to the community," Dolce said.