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India’s Essar Steel put its Minnesota iron-ore mine and processing plant into chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Friday after the state revoked its mining leases, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on Friday moved to cancel Essar Steel Minnesota LLC’s leases to mine taconite iron ore after it missed a July 1 deadline to complete construction of the $1.9 billion plant, which broke ground in 2008. Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said that he instructed the department to terminate the leases after months of calling on the steelmaker, part of India’s infrastructure and energy conglomerate Essar Group, to repay its contractors in full and to show that it had the ability to complete construction. According to the state department’s letter, the lease termination would take effect in 20 days. The state also intends to seek rent that Essar Steel Minnesota owes on the mining leases, according to the letter.

Legislation to make the bankruptcy of a big bank more feasible is gaining steam on Capitol Hill, a development that could help the largest U.S. financial firms counter criticism that they remain “too big to fail” without a taxpayer bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Changes to the Bankruptcy Code were included in a financial-services budget bill the House passed yesterday, along with other regulatory provisions such as congressional oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s budget. The “Financial Institutions Bankruptcy Act” would establish a section of the Bankruptcy Code specifically for large financial firms. It is designed to prevent a repeat of the 2008 Lehman Brothers debacle, when that investment bank’s bankruptcy filing caused widespread financial panic that brought the global economy to its knees. Under the bill, regulators and bankruptcy judges would have more power and flexibility to sort out the liabilities of a failing firm and to stabilize its continuing operations. The bill has already passed the House Judiciary Committee unanimously, and passed the House by voice vote. By including it in a budget bill, it becomes more likely to clear Congress this year. The White House said last month, regarding the House bill, that “revisions to the Bankruptcy Code have no place in an appropriations bill.” But the statement didn’t oppose the substance of the bankruptcy code changes, and many regulators have previously supported reworking the bankruptcy code to better handle large financial firms.

Bankrupt renewable power plant developer SunEdison Inc. has asked a U.S. bankruptcy court judge to approve the sale of its stake in a California solar project to an affiliate of hedge fund D.E. Shaw, Reuters reported yesterday. The purchase price of the interest is $80 million, and SunEdison expects to net $70 million in the sale, according to court filings made on Tuesday. SunEdison filed for bankruptcy in April after an aggressive growth plan proved unsuccessful. The power plant, in southern California, is not yet complete, according to court papers. Progress slowed substantially after SunEdison filed for bankruptcy, the papers say. The company will ask for an expedited auction, should the judge not grant SunEdison's request for a sale, with the D.E. Shaw affiliate's offer as the stalking-horse bid, setting the floor for others. In an auction, D.E. Shaw has offered to pay $10 million less for the stake in the plant, according to the papers.

Tucson, Ariz.-based artificial heart maker SynCardia Systems has filed for chapter 11 reorganization with plans to sell all of its assets to a Philadelphia-based private-equity firm, Tuscon.com reported yesterday. SynCardia, maker of the only FDA-approved temporary artificial heart, will continue operations without interruption, as an affiliate of Versa Capital Management LLC seeks court approval to buy the assets out of bankruptcy and recapitalize the company. To fund operations, Versa has agreed to provide the company with financing as it reorganizes in bankruptcy court. A bankruptcy judge yesterday entered interim orders approving SynCardia’s bankruptcy financing plan and its use of cash to fund operations, subject to a final hearing on Aug. 1. The company also won interim approval to pay its employees and fulfill certain customer obligations.