President Donald Trump is expected to announce a plan Monday for a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa, putting a major American manufacturing project at the center of his White House agenda.
Minnesota-based Mesabi Metallics executives are expected to join Trump at the White House. Fox News reported on X that a White House official described the proposed facility as the largest steel plant in American history. The plant is still a proposal, so that description cannot yet be verified against a completed facility.
A White House official told The Wall Street Journal that steelmaking could begin in 2030 and the mill could support more than 1,700 jobs. As of Monday morning, the White House had not published a project-specific release with further details.
From Minnesota iron ore to Iowa steel
The Iowa plan follows a milestone for Mesabi Metallics in neighboring Minnesota. Earlier this month, the U.S. Export-Import Bank said the company’s iron ore mine and pellet plant in Nashwauk had begun its startup. The agency described it as the first new U.S. iron ore mine and pellet plant to start up in 50 years.
The Minnesota operation is expected to produce up to 7 million tons of high-grade iron ore pellets a year. Those pellets supply modern steelmaking facilities. Mesabi Chairman Rewant Ruia said the company has invested more than $2.5 billion at the Minnesota site.
The proposed Iowa mill would be a far larger investment further down the steel supply chain. Its precise location and construction schedule remain to be announced.
Trump has made domestic steel production a recurring part of his economic message. The White House has tied its steel tariff policy to its goal of expanding U.S. manufacturing. Monday’s expected announcement would give the president a major new project to point to ahead of November’s midterm elections.
