- Mesabi Metallics plans to invest $15 billion in a new steelmaking complex in eastern Iowa, with initial production targeted at 7.5 million tons a year and full capacity expected to reach about 10 million tons.
Mesabi Metallics plans to build a $15 billion steelmaking complex in Iowa, President Donald Trump announced Monday, Sept. 28, in a project that the White House describes as the largest steel manufacturing investment in US history.
The company expects the facility to begin steel production in 2030, with initial output of about 7.5 million tons annually and eventual capacity of roughly 10 million tons, according to the White House announcement and the company’s Iowa project details.
The project is part of an $18 billion combined investment across Minnesota and Iowa. Mesabi Metallics says approximately $3 billion is being invested in Minnesota to complete its iron ore mine and pellet plant, while $15 billion is earmarked for the Iowa steelmaking complex.
The company said the Iowa facility is expected to create about 1,750 permanent jobs and more than 6,000 construction jobs. It estimates the overall investment could generate approximately $95 billion in economic output over the first 10 years of construction and operations.
Reuters reported that the project will use iron ore from Mesabi Metallics' newly opened operation in Nashwauk, Minnesota, creating an integrated domestic supply chain from mining through steel production.
Minnesota Iron Ore Will Feed the Iowa Steel Complex
The Iowa project is tied directly to Mesabi Metallics' new Minnesota mine and pellet plant, which the company says is the state's first new iron ore mine and pellet plant in nearly 50 years.
The Minnesota operation is designed to produce up to 7 million tons of direct-reduction-grade iron ore pellets annually, according to the US Export-Import Bank. EXIM's board recently approved a $770 million direct loan for the mine, with the agency saying the operation will supply the new Iowa steel plant.
The company said the integrated project will connect Minnesota mining with an electric-arc-furnace steelmaking complex in Iowa. The eastern Iowa location also provides access to the Mississippi River, while Mesabi Metallics plans to transport iron ore from Minnesota to the steel plant.
The steel is intended for industries including automobiles, defense, shipbuilding, energy infrastructure, bridges and other manufactured products, according to the company.
The project comes as the US steel market remains affected by higher import barriers. The Trump administration has maintained a 50% tariff on most imported steel, according to reporting from CBS News. The administration has argued that the tariffs are intended to support domestic steel production and investment. The new Iowa mill would add substantial domestic production capacity if the project reaches its planned output.
The White House has described the project as part of a broader effort to increase domestic mining and manufacturing. Those are administration claims about the policy's purpose and expected effects; the investment itself is being undertaken by Mesabi Metallics.
Minnesota Lawmakers Raise Concerns Over Plant Location
The location of the steel mill has prompted a different response in Minnesota, where the iron ore supplying the project will be mined.
Rep. Pete Stauber, a Republican representing Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, said he welcomed the opening of the state's new mine but described the decision to place the steel facility in Iowa as a loss for northern Minnesota. Northern News Now reported Stauber's comments after the White House announcement.
Minnesota state Rep. Spencer Igo, whose district includes Nashwauk, also said the region had expected more of the downstream manufacturing investment to remain in the Iron Range. His remarks were focused on the potential local economic impact of keeping more stages of steel production in Minnesota.
The project therefore creates an industrial connection between the two states while distributing the investment across different parts of the steel supply chain.
Mesabi Metallics says its broader $18 billion Minnesota-Iowa investment is intended to create a domestic chain in which iron ore is mined and processed in Minnesota before being turned into steel in Iowa.
For Iowa, the central economic figures are the planned $15 billion investment, more than 6,000 construction jobs and approximately 1,750 permanent positions. For the wider US steel industry, the project could eventually add up to 10 million tons of annual steelmaking capacity if the planned expansion is completed.
Production is expected to begin in 2030, leaving several years for construction and commissioning before the plant reaches its planned operating capacity.