Trump announces $18bn investment to build one of the largest steelworks in the US
Project led by Mesabi Metallics, a company linked to India's Essar Group, includes a $15bn steel plant in Iowa and an iron ore mine worth around $3bn in Minnesota
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday, 28 September 2026, an investment of approximately $18bn to build an integrated steel production chain in the United States.
The project will be developed by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company controlled by the Indian industrial group Essar Group. Its main components are a new steel plant in Iowa and an iron ore mine in Minnesota.
According to information released by the company and the US government, around $15bn will go towards building the steelmaking complex in Iowa, while approximately $3bn is associated with developing and completing the iron ore and pelletising operation in Minnesota.
Steel plant to produce up to 10 million tonnes of steel a year
The complex will be built in south-eastern Iowa and is expected to begin producing steel around 2030.
In its first phase, the plant is expected to have a capacity of approximately 7.5 million tonnes of steel a year. With the planned expansion, capacity could reach around 10 million tonnes annually.
If the plans are realised, the project will be among the largest steelmaking complexes in the United States and, according to Mesabi Metallics and the White House, could become the country's largest steel facility by production capacity.
Construction is expected to create more than 6,000 temporary jobs, while operating the plant should create approximately 1,750 permanent jobs in engineering, technology, production, maintenance and steelmaking operations.
The company also estimates that the project could generate approximately $95bn in economic output over the construction period and the first ten years of operation.
From mine to steel: a production chain within the United States
One of the project's key elements is the integration between the iron ore mine in Minnesota and the future steel plant in Iowa.
Mesabi Metallics is developing a new mining operation and an ore processing unit in Nashwauk, in northern Minnesota, in the area known as the Mesabi Iron Range, historically one of the main iron ore-producing regions of the United States.
The operation began coming on stream in 2026 and is presented by the US government as the first new iron ore mine to start operating in the United States in more than 50 years.
The mine is expected to produce up to approximately 7 million tonnes a year of high-quality iron ore pellets, intended mainly for modern steel production using direct reduction technologies and electric arc furnaces.
The intention is for ore extracted in Minnesota to be used as feedstock for steelmaking in Iowa, forming an integrated chain that runs from ore extraction to steel manufacturing.
Indian investment gains strategic significance in the US
Although the project is being presented as an expansion of American industrial capacity, the funds are led by one of India's largest business groups.
Mesabi Metallics is backed by Essar Group, an industrial conglomerate founded in India with businesses in sectors such as energy, mining, metals, infrastructure and technology.
The group is associated with the Ruia family, which built Essar from a family firm and later expanded its operations into a range of international markets.
Among the key figures linked to the project is Rewant Ruia, chairman of Mesabi Metallics and a member of Essar's founding family. Essar itself says that Ruia is involved in the group's international expansion, particularly in the mining and metals sectors.
In statements about the investment, Ruia highlighted the aim of creating an integrated production chain in the United States, connecting raw material extracted in Minnesota with steel manufacturing in Iowa.
Essar regards the Minnesota project as one of its main industrial investments in the United States. In 2026, the company said it had already invested more than $1.8bn in the venture and that total investment in the mining and pelletising operation would reach approximately $2.5bn.
Financial backing from the US government
The project also has financial backing from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), the country's official export credit agency.
EXIM said it had approved a direct loan of $770m for the iron ore operation in Minnesota. The agency also announced support of up to $10bn in financing for the expansion of Mesabi Metallics.
According to EXIM, the Minnesota operation is expected to employ more than 200 people in its initial phase and could add approximately 350 jobs once it reaches full capacity, in addition to construction workers.
US officials present the public funding as part of a strategy to expand domestic production of raw materials considered important to industry and to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.
Trump links steel production to national security
During the announcement at the White House, Trump linked domestic steel production to America's defence capabilities.
The president said that steel is needed to manufacture military equipment, including aircraft and tanks, and argued that a country should not depend on other nations for essential materials in times of conflict.
Trump also cited aluminium and other industrial products as strategic components of America's security and productive capacity.
The Trump administration has tied the strengthening of the steel industry to its economic and national security policy, especially following the increase in tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
Pandemic and medicines also feature in Trump's speech
During the event, Trump widened the argument to other sectors considered strategic, citing medicines and industrial products.
The president said the United States needs to regain domestic manufacturing capacity in areas that, in his view, have come to depend excessively on international supply chains.
Trump used the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic as an example of the vulnerability caused by disruptions to global supply chains.
The president also credited his administration's policies with the revival of industrial investment and said that major factories are being built in the country.
These statements form part of the Trump administration's political case for greater industrial production within the United States.
Project marks new stage for the American steel industry
The Mesabi Metallics venture combines three stages that may traditionally be spread across different companies and countries: mining, ore processing and steel production.
With the Minnesota mine supplying raw material to the Iowa steel plant, the company aims to establish an integrated production chain on North American soil.
Mesabi Metallics says the project should benefit not only its own workers, but also transport companies, equipment suppliers, maintenance firms, manufacturers and other businesses linked to the industrial chain in the American Midwest.
The company also presents the high-quality ore produced in Minnesota as a suitable raw material for modern steelmaking technologies, including processes associated with direct reduction and electric arc furnace steelmaking.
An international-scale investment
Although the Trump administration presents it as part of the rebuilding of American industrial capacity, the project also demonstrates the growing presence of foreign capital in US industry.
In this case, the investment is led by a business group of Indian origin, while the production, mining, jobs and most of the planned industrial chain will be located in the United States.
For Essar and the Ruia family, the venture represents a long-term expansion in the North American metals and mining market. For the US government, the project is presented as a way of increasing the domestic supply of steel and iron ore and strengthening supply chains considered strategic.
With completion expected by the end of the decade, the Iowa complex could become one of the largest new industrial investments in the American steel sector in decades.