Posted on 09/28/2026 9:37:36 PM PDT by VanShuyten
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new steel plant in southeast Iowa that he says will be the largest in the United States. The president hosted steel executives and several Iowa leaders Monday afternoon for the announcement at the White House. …. The mill is being built by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota company owned by India-based Essar Group. It's expected to create roughly 6,000 construction jobs and 1,750 permanent jobs in Iowa, with its first steel production in 2030. … The White House says it "will be fully vertically integrated in the U.S. (from iron mining through steel production)." It says it will also be able to support "important defense sector requirements for high-grade steel."
The White House is framing it 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at kcci.com ...
Good reason but not the one Trump gave. It was more about getting votes.
Illinois coal and Minnesota Iron on Midwest trains!
Will people in Iowa be promised 10,000 dollars apiece or better before Election Day?
Would have preferred another refinery but I’ll take it. Bring these jobs back to the US.
Before the ICE raids, construction was all Hispanic. The threat was that no one would do these jobs. After the ICE raids started, most of the Hispanic workers disappeared. Now by us they have mostly been replaced with white and black people. Seems citizens wanted those jobs after all. I figure the same will be with the steel plant.
Is this a greenfield project or will all or part of the Galesburg plant be refitted?
Not sure the Galesburg plant is serviceable.
Iowa is now a swing state. If Ashley Hinson loses the senate race Trump should drop the project. Same with the governor’s race.
Chuck Grassley is 93 years old. If he croaks next year and the governor is a rat what happens?
What if he does? You gonna cry?
It looks to be a ground-up project solely on the Iowa side of the river. I have no idea about the site selection. Maybe they figured if they aren’t complaining about hosting the state prison, they won’t bitch about a steel plant. There is good rail connection there, but no major interstate. There’s an old rail-to-barge port for grain and coal there on the river, but I don’t know anything about the capacity or condition.
Its owned by Hindu parent company - notice the dark skinned individuals in some photos with 47 during the event.
Who owns Mesabi Metallics?
AI Overview
Mesabi Metallics is owned by the India-based Essar Group.
This project has not acquired any land, no working plans, no permits applied for, no grid connection...
And depends on massive money from the state of Iowa, which depends on a special session of the General Assembly, not yet scheduled.
And the claim is to be in production in 2030?
From an Indian company with a history of bankruptcies.
I have worked with many Indians, and enjoy the food... But many Indians have broken watches and defective calendars.
You know all the equipment for this plant will be made in India and will require the removal of all import tariffs.
This will take many years if ever built.
Also, this process generates 500 pounds of slag per ton of iron pellets. 10 tons of steel produced... you can do the math.
Trump green lighted a new refinery to be built in Brownsville, Texas.
Yah seen that. The time to get one up and running is crazy. I know there is a lot of financial risk and that is part of why they are hard to get built. If the government wants to throw money at an incentive you’d think that would be a good way to go.
“ This project has not acquired any land, no working plans, no permits applied for, no grid connection..”
I don’t know if any of what you said is true. I do know they have bought lots of land there, and I imagine they have prepped well for this.
Supposedly, there are some real estate agents talking, but no sales have been closed. Possibly some options, not sales.
Pls show any links to land sales.
This is a dog-and-pony show; for political reasons, also needs lots of state money.
No money, no honey.
And if it comes to pass, it will take ten years.
You cannot simply plug electric arc steel furnaces into the grid with a huge extension cord.
Not off-the-shelf equipment, all special order from India.
No land, no plans, no permits.
No steel plant.
Why select a site 600 miles from the mine?
The driving distance from Nashwauk, Minnesota to Lee County, Iowa, is approximately 594 miles!
A lot of extra cost- why?
Also, the mine only has a twenty-year supply of ore.
Spending billions and transporting the ore 600 miles???
Does not add up.
Apparently there is significant iron mining in Iowa, which makes this vertical-integration attempt interesting.
There is no significant iron mining in Iowa, as the state does not have the geological ore deposits required for raw mineral extraction.
Pls show us an iron mine in Iowa.
I may well have misunderstood. There are 8 ongoing businesses refining iron ore in Iowa, according to Wikipedia. I thought that meant there was significant local ore deposits.
Mea culpa.
And that brings up something I was thinking about...
The trucks transport the ore 600 miles, a 10-hour drive to the steel mill; truck drivers can only drive 11 hours and are required to have 10 hours off, and there are many more rules...
They will have to deadhead the truck back to the mine.
Proposed 10 million tons of steel per year.
Not all the ore becomes finished product; 12 million tons of ore delivered. EQUALS six hundred thousand truckloads of incoming ore. Equals 1,666 truckloads each day for 360 days
Off on Christmas and Diwali(5 days).
70 trucks per hour.
Pls, check my math, must be wrong.
And a similar number of trucks delivering the finished product!
More trucks removing the slag and waste products...
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