NEW YORK — New Millennium Iron Corp. has started iron ore production at its mine in Schefferville, Quebec, and is stockpiling the output at its Timmins, Ontario, processing plant for crushing and screening.

The direct shipping ore project is being developed as part of a joint venture with Vancouver, British Columbia-based Tata Steel Minerals Canada Ltd., in which Calgary, Alberta-based New Millennium owns 20 percent.

Tata will use 100 percent of Schefferville’s production, which will be exported to steel mills in England, Wales and the Netherlands. The steelmaker needs 20 million to 25 million tonnes of iron ore annually for its European mills and currently has no captive iron ore source for these operations.