President Donald Trump will announce plans on Monday for a gigantic steel plant in Iowa that the White House is touting as the largest in American history.
President Donald Trump announced plans on Monday for a gigantic steel plant in Iowa that the White House is touting as the largest in American history.
Today, we’re thrilled to announce that Mesabi Metallics will be building the largest steel plant in American history in the great state of Iowa," Trump said. "It’s the largest plant, one of the largest plants in the world, but it’s the largest plant in America by far."
The nearly $15 billion Mesabi Metallics steel plant is expected to be a major new investment in the state, with the administration touting it as proof Trump's economic agenda is returning manufacturing to the U.S.
The facility will produce steel using iron ore from the company's new mine in Minnesota.
In other words, this steel will be mined, melted and made right here in the USA," Trump said. "The project is expected to create up to 6,000 new construction jobs, nearly 2,000 manufacturing and mining jobs, and another $95 billion to the U.S. economy."
Trump made the announcement from the Oval Office, joined by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, National Energy Dominance Council Executive Director Jarrod Agen and Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic. Mesabi Metallics Chairman Rewant Ruia, board member Prashant Ruia and CEO Joe Broking were also in attendance, alongside Iowa lawmakers.
"With the new steel complex in Iowa, we will complete the fully integrated American supply chain from mine to mill," Rewant Ruia said. “American ore carried on American railroads to an American steel plant powered by American energy, built and operated by an incredibly hardworking and talented American workforce."
My brother Shashi and I founded Essar many decades ago," Ravi Ruia said. "Above all, we are builders. We have built world-class steel plants, oil refineries, ports, power plants and various other assets in India and overseas. We have now chosen to build our next major chapter here in America."
Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic said the Iowa project is part of an effort to build a domestic steel supply chain.
What we’re really talking about today is America’s economic security," Jovanovic said. "It all starts with mining in America."
"The mine you mentioned is the first mine opened in America in 50-plus years," he said. "This plant is possible because we are creating one American supply chain."
The president credited his administration’s tariffs on foreign steel for the investment. Last year, President Trump doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50%.
Soon after my inauguration, I imposed powerful 50% tariffs on all foreign steel, and now our steel industry is roaring back to life," Trump said. "Everyone is building their plant here because they don’t want to pay tariffs. It’s really not that complicated."
Trump said his administration’s policies had boosted domestic steel production and manufacturing employment.
"We currently have $47 billion in projects announced or underway in the steel sector alone," Trump said. "Today, we’re adding even more."
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick credited the steel tariffs with making this project possible.
These are your 232 tariffs, the steel tariffs at work," Lutnick said.
"We are unleashing the Iron Range in Minnesota," he said. "You go right down the Mississippi to Iowa, where they get to build a $15 billion integrated steel plant. This is exactly your plan, because you’re driving steel to America."
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 28: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick (2nd L) speaks during an announcement made by U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on September 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump announced plans that a new $15 billion steel plant will be built in eastern Iowa by Mesabi Metallics and is projected to be one of the largest in the United States. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)The new steel plant is expected to bring 1,750 permanent jobs to the state, as well as 5,000 to 6,000 construction jobs during the build phase.
The White House said the Mesabi Metallics plant is expected to produce 7.5 million tons of steel annually in the project's first phase, before reaching 10 million tons per year. This would make the plant the largest ever built in the U.S.
With 10 million tons of production annually, the plant would equate to outputting around one-tenth of what the entire U.S. steel industry produced last year, the White House told the outlet.
President Trump is delivering on his promise to rebuild American industry, reshore manufacturing, and create new jobs," White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Fox ahead of the announcement. "Today’s announcement underscores the President’s historic efforts to revitalize the U.S. steel industry—supporting local communities, strengthening supply chains, and protecting our national security. After decades of decline, this President is restoring America’s industrial competitiveness and securing trillions of dollars in new investment."
Using iron ore from the Minnesota mine, the Iowa plant would create a fully domestic supply chain. The administration also shared that the new plant can produce high-grade steel used to meet defense-sector requirements, strengthening the domestic supply chain of materials used by the U.S. military and other critical infrastructure.
The White House says the first phase of the steel plant and Minnesota mine represents nearly $18 billion of investment, and it estimates the first phase will generate around $95 billion in economic activity as construction gets underway and the plant enters its first decade of operation.
It is important to note the project's timeline, with Mesabi Metallics saying it does not expect the Iowa plant to produce its first steel until 2030.
With the Minnesota mine, commercial pellet production has not yet begun, but a recent SEC filing reveals Mesabi Metallics expects production in the fourth quarter of 2026, with a commercial production timeline coming shortly after in the next eight to 12 months.
According to the White House, the Minnesota mine will produce 7.5 million tons each year and create 350 permanent jobs.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said the project could reshape the economy of southeastern Iowa and the broader Midwest.
We could not be prouder of being the future home of the largest steel investment in this country," Reynolds said. "This is a transformational opportunity not only for our country, but for Iowa and really for American families."
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called the project a show of U.S. industrial strength.
This is one of the greatest American muscle flexes that you are going to see in a long time," Ernst said. "We are looking for ways for America to refine, to mine, to grow and to manufacture and all of that is happening right there in southeast Iowa."
"Iowa does a lot of things really, really well. We feed and fuel the world, and now we’re going to continue to be a part of the American manufacturing story," Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, said. "With 1,700 jobs, I just think about the countless opportunities for Iowa families and what this means for them,” she added. “It is a game changer for our state and, frankly, for the country."
The Trump administration has already announced hundreds of billions in planned investments from around the globe, as it touts the president's economic policy of pushing for companies to build inside the U.S. by using tariffs ahead of the midterms.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright called the investment part of a broader effort to expand U.S. industrial production.
This is the Trump reindustrialization of America hitting the ground at serious scale," Wright said. "President Trump got elected to reindustrialize our country, bring jobs, opportunity and national security back to our country."
"This is a win for America, national security, and a massive economic win and vote of confidence in the fabulous state of Iowa," he added.
