India’s Essar Group will build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa through Mesabi Metallics, taking its planned US investment to $18 billion
India’s Essar Group plans to invest a total of $18 billion in the United States, including a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa, US President Donald Trump said as he unveiled the project at the White House.
The steel complex will be developed by Mesabi Metallics, a US company owned by Essar Group. The project is expected to become one of the largest steel plants in the United States, with production eventually reaching 10 million tonnes a year.
The first phase of the plant is expected to produce 7.5 million tonnes of steel annually. First steel production is targeted for 2030.
The Indian conglomerate has already invested more than $2.5 billion in Mesabi Metallics’ iron ore project in Nashwauk, Minnesota.
The Minnesota operation has started its initial operations and is the first new iron ore mine and pellet plant to begin operating in the US in about 50 years, according to Essar. The company expects the facility to produce up to 7 million tonnes of direct reduction grade iron ore pellets a year when it reaches full capacity.
More from BusinessFrom Minnesota iron ore to Iowa steel
The planned Iowa plant is designed to create an integrated US steel supply chain.
Mesabi Metallics will use iron ore produced at its Minnesota mine as feedstock for steelmaking in Iowa. The company says this will allow the supply chain to run from mining and processing to steel production within the US.
Rewant Ruia, chairman of Mesabi Metallics, thanked Trump for supporting domestic manufacturing.
“Thank you, US President Donald Trump, for bringing back the importance of building things in America,” Ruia said, adding that the Iowa project would complete a fully integrated American supply chain.
Essar described Mesabi as a strategic investment aimed at supplying high-grade iron ore for modern steelmaking in North America. Its Minnesota operation is located on more than 16,000 acres and has a planned pellet production capacity of 7 million tonnes a year.
Thousands of jobs expected
The Iowa project is expected to create at least 1,750 permanent jobs, while the first phase could support up to 6,000 construction jobs, according to the White House.
The White House has estimated that the first phase could generate about $95 billion in economic impact during construction and its first 10 years of operation.
The project comes as the Trump administration seeks to expand domestic manufacturing and reduce US dependence on imported industrial materials.
Trump has made steel production and manufacturing a central part of his economic policy. His administration has imposed higher tariffs on imported steel, arguing that trade barriers will encourage companies to invest and produce more in the US.
“Everyone’s building their plants here because they don’t want to pay tariffs,” Trump said at the White House event, according to The Associated Press.
Essar’s growing US footprint
The new steel project adds to Essar’s wider investments in the US.
The group has said its US strategy includes metals and mining as well as technology and infrastructure. Its Mesabi investment is focused on producing direct reduction grade iron ore pellets that can be used in electric arc furnace steelmaking.
Essar said in September that the US Export-Import Bank had offered up to $10 billion in financing for the expansion of Mesabi Metallics. The company’s Minnesota project currently employs more than 200 people and is expected to employ about 350 more when it reaches full capacity.
The investment also comes as the US seeks to strengthen domestic supplies of materials considered important for manufacturing, infrastructure, automobiles, shipbuilding and defence.
The Iowa plant is expected to be built in phases, with production eventually reaching 10 million tonnes of steel a year. The project will need to move through construction and development stages before commercial steel production begins in 2030.
