Employers & Industry
Mesabi Metallics plans to build a roughly $15 billion steel mill in southeast Iowa, a project President Donald Trump announced September 28 in the Oval Office. According to the White House, the mill would create 1,750 permanent jobs and support up to 6,000 construction jobs; a White House official told Reuters construction employment would be 5,000 to 6,000. Mesabi is owned by India-based Essar Group.
What has been announced
The White House and Iowa officials say the mill will be built in Lee County. Mesabi has not formally announced a specific site; local outlet Pen City Current reported it would be in the Green Bay Bottoms area near Wever. The White House says steelmaking is to begin in 2030, with capacity of 7.5 million tons a year in the first phase rising to about 10 million tons. It says the permanent jobs would pay $49 an hour, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
The mill would use iron ore from Mesabi’s newly opened mine near Nashwauk, Minnesota, which the White House called the first new iron-ore mine in the United States in 50 years. Mesabi Chair Rewant Ruia said the Iowa complex would “complete the fully integrated American supply chain, from mine to mill.” Iowa Public Radio reported that the full package is an $18 billion investment, including $3 billion to complete the Minnesota mine. Mesabi says the plant will use hot direct-reduced iron and electric-arc-furnace steelmaking, the Mesabi Tribune reported.
Open questions
Financing and incentives are not settled in public. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the mill would not receive direct federal support and would be privately financed by Essar, while the Export-Import Bank approved a $770 million loan on September 24 for Mesabi’s iron-ore operations, CBS News reported. White House officials told Iowa Public Radio the project does not depend on local incentives. The Iowa Capital Dispatch reported it is not yet clear whether state or local tax incentives will be proposed, and Democratic legislative leaders said they had seen no details of a package.
The company’s track record is also relevant. The Minnesota mine project, begun under Essar Steel Minnesota in 2008, went through years of delays and a 2016 bankruptcy before starting production.
The announcement came weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, and Reuters reported the administration is highlighting the investment as part of its push to promote domestic manufacturing. Trump credited his steel tariffs, saying companies are building in the U.S. “because they don’t want to pay tariffs.” Those are the administration’s explanations; the companies’ own statements focus on the supply chain.
What the job numbers mean
These are announced and projected jobs, not current hires, and the permanent roles would not start until the plant is operating. A project of this size creates several labor markets over time: temporary construction demand, then production, maintenance, engineering and management roles, plus supplier and transportation work. The useful follow-ups are a formal site announcement, permits, a construction start, contractor hiring, job postings and training partnerships with local colleges.
Sources
- The White House, release on the Mesabi Metallics Iowa mill and Minnesota mine, September 28, 2026. https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/09/mined-melted-and-poured-in-america-president-trump-reverses-years-of-anti-mining-policy/
- Iowa Capital Dispatch, report on the Oval Office steel-mill announcement, September 28, 2026. https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/09/28/president-donald-trump-announces-15-billion-steel-mill-in-iowa/
- Reuters (via KSL syndication), pre-announcement report on the planned Iowa steel project, September 28, 2026. https://ksltv.com/article/news/business/trump-to-unveil-planned-15-billion-iowa-steel-project/51629482
- Iowa Public Radio, report on the Mesabi Metallics announcement, September 28, 2026. https://www.iowapublicradio.org/political-news/2026-09-28/president-trump-15-billion-steel-plant-iowa-mesabi-metallics
- CBS News, report on the Iowa steel plant and Mesabi financing, September 2026. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-steel-plant-iowa/
- Mesabi Tribune, report on Mesabi Metallics’ Iowa site selection, September 2026. https://www.mesabitribune.com/news/local/mesabi-metallics-selects-iowa-for-steel-plant/article_a2046c2a-3fa2-43c9-b832-5ec39e228f8a.html
- Pen City Current (Fort Madison), report on the Mesabi plans for Lee County, September 2026. https://www.pencitycurrent.com/stories/president-confirmes-mesabi-plans-for-iowa,185525
Featured photo: The Nucor Steel Seattle mill in Seattle, photographed in 2019. Representative image of a U.S. steel mill; it is not the planned Mesabi Metallics site. Photo: Joe Mabel, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped from the original.
