Iowa Steel Plant Announced On Upper Miss

President Donald Trump announced a project by Mesabi Metallics September 28 to build a $15 billion steel plant in Lee County, Iowa, on the banks of the Mississippi River, calling it the largest steel plant in U.S. history. Mesabi said it will invest $15 billion to build the Iowa facility, in addition to the $3 billion being spent to complete its iron ore mine in Minnesota.

Trump made the announcement from the Oval Office, accompanied by Attorney General Brenna Bird, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Gov. Kim Reynolds, as well as well as officials from Mesabi Metallics and Essar, the Indian conglomerate of which Mesabi is a division.

“This is a major moment for U.S.-made steel, combining the highest quality direct-reduction grade iron ore pellet from Minnesota’s Iron Range with the most advanced DRI to EAF steelmaking technology in Iowa to supply the high-quality, all-American steel that our national defense, cars and trucks, shipbuilding, household appliances, energy and infrastructure depend on,” said Joe Broking, CEO for Mesabi Metallics.

Mesabi Metallics’ iron ore mine on Minnesota’s Iron Range is the first new iron ore mine built in the United States in 50 years, with close to $3 billion invested. Located in Nashwauk, Minn., the mine will produce Patriot Pellet, the company’s direct-reduction-grade (DR-grade) iron ore pellet engineered for modern electric arc furnace steelmaking – one of the highest-quality iron ore pellets made anywhere in the world, the company said. More than 1,500 construction workers are on site, alongside more than 200 full-time employees already at the mine, building toward 350 full-time jobs once fully operational.

Barge Transport

The ability to access cost-effective barge transportation was cited as part of the plant’s site selection process by multiple news reports. The adjacent Koch Fertilizer plant in nearby Wever operates, and has been expanding, barge loading/unloading facilities on the Mississippi. While Mesabi plans to ship the iron ore to the site by rail, barge transport will be important both for bringing in construction materials and for moving finished product.

The plant’s construction phase is expected to support between 5,000 and 6,000 construction jobs. Once fully operational, by 2030, the plant is expected to produce up to 10 million tons of steel annually. The project will be supported by $10 billion in financing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States.

Long Prehistory

Trump and Lutnick credited the steel tariffs for the announcement, citing the project as a win for U.S. manufacturing. The plant has a long prehistory; the core concept of a “mine-to-mouth” massive steel plant served by Minnesota’s Iron Range was conceived and pitched in 2004 by a company called Minnesota Iron and Steel.

In 2017, the India-based Essar Group bought the assets of mining company M.A. Hanna to form Mesabi Metallics, named after the Mesabi mountain range. M.A. Hanna had roots going back to the original iron mine that opened in 1903 in Nashwauk. As steel prices crashed from the 1960s onward, it faced financial pressures and closed or sold its various mining operations, including the taconite mine in Nashwauk in 1985, laying off 450 workers. The company then left mining entirely, pivoting to plastics, polymers and rubber compounding. Last year, two of the state’s six remaining taconite facilities closed.

Mesabi has spent years assembling the various permits needed. It projects its first steel output from the plant to start in 2030, when the massive facility is expected to go fully online. The plant will feature both integrated blast furnaces to process iron ore pellets and efficient electric arc furnaces to make steel from scrap steel.

Robert Sinkler, executive coordinating director for the Corn Belt Ports, said, “It is nice to see projects like this being considered for the rural, regional ports on the east coast of Iowa. The Corn Belt Ports were formed in 2019 to help facilitate delivery of large infrastructure projects like this that support national security: global food security; U.S. manufacturing; and/or defense supply chain infrastructure.”