Mesabi Metallics will build a $15 billion steel plant in Iowa.
President Donald Trump unveiled plans for the plant in the Oval Office on Monday, Sept. 28, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal.
Mesabi Metallics confirmed the announcement later that day.
This comes after the company received a $770 million federal loan and announced a $5 billion expansion of its mine site near Nashwauk earlier this month. The company is ramping up operations at the mine and expects pellet production in the next few weeks.
According to a White House official, the plant in Iowa is expected to create over 1,700 jobs.
It is also expected to produce 7.5 million tons of steel each year, which will be sourced from Nashwauk.
At the announcement Monday, Trump was joined by Mesabi executives, federal officials and Iowa state officials.
"It's a great company," Trump said, "and they're going to make a great investment in a place called Iowa."
Trump also claimed his tariffs on foreign steel were responsible for the industry "roaring back to life."
Mesabi CEO Joe Broking was among the attendees at Monday's announcement. He said the facility in Iowa would bolster the "long-term economic strength" of the Minnesota facility by creating a domestic steel supply chain.
“Mesabi is building a world-class steel supply chain that is 100% American," Broking stated. "Our investment will create high-paying jobs with competitive benefits in Iowa and Minnesota, generate tens of billions of dollars in U.S. economic activity, and strengthen our domestic manufacturing base."
Tax incentives may have played a role in Mesabi's decision to choose Iowa. The Des Moines Register reported that Iowa lawmakers received notice about a potential special session to issues tax breaks for the company on Friday, Sept. 25.
Earlier this month, Mesabi CEO Joe Broking spoke with the Itasca County Board of Commissioners to express his frustration with Minnesota's lack of tax incentives.
"The reality is when you talk to other states, they are more competitive on this subject," Broking said. "Especially for an investment like this, where we're talking about a game-changing investment, they're willing to look at things a bit differently."
The announcement came just over a month away from the midterm general election on Nov. 3.
Several Republican candidates blamed state leadership for the company’s decision to build outside of Minnesota.
State Sen. Rob Farnsworth, R-Hibbing, called on Minnesotans to “support candidates that support mining” in a video on Facebook Tuesday, naming top-ticket Republican candidates Lisa Demuth, who is running for governor, and Michele Tafoya, who is running for Senate.
In another post Tuesday, he said the decision was “no surprise to those of us who have seen firsthand just how hard the Minnesota government makes manufacturing and mining.”
8th District Congressman Pete Stauber, R-Hermantown, said the current Minnesota administration should “shoulder all the blame” for the decision in a statement Monday.
"While Iowa’s leaders have fostered a pro-growth environment that attracts investment and jobs, the Walz-Flannagan Administration have done the opposite," Stauber said in a statement Monday. "Their abysmal leadership has driven away opportunity through hostility to industry and indifference to the Iron Range."
DFL candidate Trina Swanson of Hermantown is running against Stauber in the upcoming election. She said in a statement Tuesday the company’s actions, along with those of the Trump Administration, do not support union or workers’ interests in Minnesota.
“The pattern is clear: foreign multibillion-dollar corporations will do anything in their power to restrict union involvement to suppress wages, and Republicans in power are more than happy to assist them," Swanson stated.
Mesabi Metallics is owned by Essar Group, a company based in India.
In a Facebook post Tuesday, state Rep. Spencer Igo, R-Wabana Township, called the decision another frustration in a series of “gut punches” that have stalled industry in the region.
Igo specifically named the proposed Huber mill in Cohasset, which the company withdrew plans for in 2023, as another one of the region’s missed opportunities.
“We cannot keep watching billions of dollars in investment and thousands of good-paying jobs go elsewhere and pretend there is nothing we can do about it,” he stated. “ ... The most important part of public policy is partnership, and the state of Minnesota is missing that.”
The company has not named a location for its Iowa mill. The facility could begin steelmaking as early as 2030.
Editor’s Note: KAXE edited this story on Oct. 1 to add comments from state Sen. Rob Farnsworth, Congressman Pete Stauber, Congressional candidate Trina Swanson and state Rep. Spencer Igo.
