Steel mill planned for Iowa using ore from MN mine
President Donald Trump on Monday announced plans for a new $15 billion steel plant in eastern Iowa that would be one of the largest in the United States — and use iron ore mined in Minnesota.
The new mill in eastern Iowa will be built by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company owned by India’s Essar Group, an industrial conglomerate. The White House said the plant will begin producing steel in 2030 and create more than 2,000 jobs in the United States. When it’s fully built out, it’s expected to produce 10 million tons of steel a year, more than any other in the U.S.
The steel plant will be supplied by the new $2.5 billion iron ore mine that Mesabi developed on Minnesota’s Iron Range and officially opened earlier this month. It’s the first new iron ore mine in the state in a half-century.
The resulting steel will be produced from start to finish in the United States, the White House said.
The president touted the 50 percent tariffs on steel imports that he imposed last year as the impetus for the steel plant.
“Our steel industry is roaring back to life. Everyone is building their plants here because they don’t want to pay tariffs,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “It’s really not that complicated.”
The Mesabi Metallics mine’s opening comes at a critical time in northeastern Minnesota, after closures last year at two of the region’s six taconite facilities.
Mesabi has hired more than 200 workers so far, out of a planned 350 full-time employees at the mine near Nashwauk.
But news that Mesabi plans to build a steel plant in Iowa — and not in Minnesota — was called a “gut punch” by Republican state Rep. Spencer Igo, who represents the portion of the Iron Range where the new mine is located.
Igo said the mine is a “big win” for the Range — but he said Mesabi’s next investment going to Iowa “should frustrate everyone who cares about the future of northern Minnesota.”
“We cannot keep watching billions of dollars in investment and thousands of good-paying jobs go elsewhere and pretend there is nothing we can do about it,” Igo wrote. “The people of the Iron Range want this opportunity, and we have the workers, the resources, and the communities ready to support these projects. State leaders need to start making Minnesota a place where companies want to build and create jobs, not a place they look to leave behind. The most important part of public policy is partnership, and the state of Minnesota is missing that.”
Mesabi Metallics said the new Iowa steel plant will “reshape American steelmaking with a supply chain that is 100 percent American: mined, melted and poured.”
Mesabi CEO Joe Broking said in a statement Monday that the steel plant announcement “bolsters the long-term economic strength of Mesabi Metallics’ mine and pellet plant in Nashwauk, Minnesota, by tying it to a low-cost steel facility.”
“Mesabi Metallics is looking forward to further investment in Minnesota, and we look forward to continuing our work with the state to expand the mine capacity and build an additional hot briquetted iron facility in Minnesota,” Broking said.
Hot briquetted iron is a purer form of iron is used to feed smaller steel mills known as electric arc furnaces.
Broking added: “We have greatly appreciated the support of Governor Walz and the work of the DNR and MPCA to successfully permit the first new iron mine in Minnesota in 50 years.”
Broking told Itasca County officials earlier this month that Mesabi Metallics plans to submit permits to the state of Minnesota for a new iron plant in Nashwauk by the end of the year.
But he also told commissioners that before making the investment, the company needs to see more efficient state permitting and more competitive incentives. He also said Mesabi would need to regain control of state mineral leases that were awarded to rival mining company Cleveland-Cliffs in 2023.
The White House is framing Monday’s steel plant announcement as part of Trump’s push to revitalize American steel.
It comes as Trump is trying to energize Republican voters as his party faces challenging midterm elections. Iowa has found itself with competitive races for the Senate and the governor’s mansion this year.
