$15 Billion Steel Mill Planned for Iowa by Mesabi Metallics

President Donald Trump announced Monday that Mesabi Metallics will build a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa, with production targeted to begin in 2030, according to NBC News. The announcement came in the Oval Office, where Trump was joined by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Mesabi Metallics CEO Joe Broking, and other business leaders, NBC reported.

"This steel will be mined, melted, and made right here in the USA, which is something very unusual," Trump said, according to NBC. He added that the plant will "produce some of the highest quality, most affordable steel anywhere in the world."

What will the Iowa plant produce?

The facility is expected to produce 10 million tons of steel a year, a White House official told NBC. The plant is also designed to be capable of supporting defense sector requirements for high-grade steel, the official said.

Where will the raw materials come from?

The steel mill will draw iron ore from a new mine that Mesabi Metallics invested $2.5 billion to build in Minnesota, NBC reported. The mine is expected to come online within weeks and will produce about 7.5 million tons of iron annually, according to the White House official cited by NBC. Trump called it "the first new iron ore mine in the United States in more than 50 years."

The mine sits in Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range, a formation stretching 80 to 100 miles that accounted for roughly 60% of total U.S. iron ore production during the 20th century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey figures cited by NBC.

How many jobs will the project create?

The Iowa steel mill is projected to create as many as 1,750 permanent jobs, the White House official said. The Minnesota mine is expected to add about 350 jobs in that state, according to the same official.

"It's the first new iron ore mine in the United States in more than 50 years." — President Donald Trump

Who is paying for the $15 billion project?

The Export-Import Bank, the federal government's export credit agency, will issue up to $10 billion in financing to support Mesabi Metallics' expansion, according to an agency release cited by NBC. The remainder of the project's financing was not detailed in the announcement covered by NBC.

How does this connect to Trump's steel tariffs?

The mill announcement follows a broader push by the Trump administration to expand U.S. manufacturing and restrict steel imports as part of its trade policy, NBC reported. The Supreme Court struck down many of Trump's tariffs earlier this year but left duties on imported steel and aluminum intact, according to NBC. The U.S. currently levies a 50% tariff on most steel imports, NBC reported.

NBC News, citing a White House official, first confirmed the jobs and production figures; The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the new facility, according to NBC's account of Monday's announcement.