Trump unveils plans for a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa

President Donald Trump will announce a plan for a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa on Monday.

Mesabi Metallics is building the plant with the aim of starting production by 2030, a White House official said. The facility is expected to produce 10 million tons of steel a year and create as many as 1,750 permanent jobs in the state, the official said.

The plant will be capable of supporting defense sector requirements for high-grade steel, the official said.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the new facility.

The plant will use iron ore from a new mine that the company invested $2.5 billion to build in Minnesota. The mine, which will come on line in the coming weeks, will produce about 7.5 million tons of iron per year and create about 350 jobs in the state, the White House official said, noting that it will be the first new iron mine in the U.S. in 50 years.

The mine is based in Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, which stretches 80 to 100 miles and contributed about 60% of total iron ore production in the U.S. during the 20th century, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Trump is delivering on his promise to rebuild American industry, reshore manufacturing, and create new jobs,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement. “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.”

Trump will announce the project at a 2 p.m. ET White House event with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Mesabi Metallics CEO Joe Broking, Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic and other business leaders.

Jovanovic recently visited the mine, and the Export-Import Bank, the federal government’s export credit agency, will issue up to $10 billion in financing for Mesabi Metallics’ expansion there, an agency release said.

Trump has prioritized the expansion of the U.S. manufacturing sector, including by taking aim at steel imports as part of a wide-ranging trade policy. Although the Supreme Court earlier this year struck down many of the tariffs he imposed, it did leave duties in place on imported steel and aluminum. The U.S. currently levies a 50% tariff on most steel imports.

In a letter to Trump last week, steel industry groups urged the president to “stand firm against efforts to weaken the tariffs” as U.S. steelmakers invest in new mills domestically.

“Weakening the tariffs now would put that progress at risk, threatening American jobs and the economic and national security benefits the policy was designed to protect,” they warned.