Mesabi's planned $15 billion Iowa steel mill would need up to 6,000 builders years before its 1,750 steelworkers

The steel mill President Trump unveiled in the Oval Office on Monday would reach peak employment long before it pours any steel. Mesabi Metallics' planned $15 billion plant in Iowa is expected to support up to 6,000 construction jobs in its first phase and 1,750 permanent jobs once running, according to a White House release. First steel is targeted for 2030.

The first phase would produce 7.5 million tons a year, rising to about 10 million, a scale the White House describes as the largest steel plant in U.S. history. A White House official said it would be the first mega steel plant built in the country since the 1960s. Information released with the announcement, as carried by KWWL, noted that most new U.S. steel plants are smaller electric arc furnaces. The White House projects $95 billion in economic impact across construction and the first 10 years of operation.

The two headcount figures belong to different moments. The official tied "at least 1,750 permanent jobs" to the plant's eventual ramp to 10 million tons, CNBC reported, while the construction figure attaches to phase one. The White House release put construction at "up to 6,000"; the fuller information distributed with the announcement gave a range of 5,000 to 6,000, according to KWWL and KILJ.

Where those crews would work is not formally settled. Mesabi has not named a site, though Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the plant would be in the southeast part of the state. KILJ, a local radio station, reported the project as destined for Lee County. Emily Benjamin, chief executive of the Lee County Economic Development Group, welcomed an investment that "would be transformational for our region" but told the station that "details like the location are the company's to share." The Des Moines Register reported that Iowa lawmakers have been alerted they may need to return to the statehouse to approve tax breaks for Mesabi, according to CBS News.

The plant's supply chain offers the clearest guide to how such timelines behave. Its iron ore would come from Mesabi's more than $2.5 billion mine in Nashwauk, Minnesota, which opened this month after roughly two decades in development. Construction there was supposed to finish by 2016, before Essar Steel Minnesota filed for bankruptcy, Minnesota Public Radio reported. Mesabi, owned by India's Essar Group, has hired more than 200 of a planned 350 full-time mine workers, MPR reported, in a region that lost two of its six taconite facilities to closures last year. The Export-Import Bank will provide up to $10 billion in financing for the mine's expansion, according to an agency release.

The decision to process Minnesota ore about 250 miles from the Iowa border drew immediate complaint on the Iron Range. Republican state Rep. Spencer Igo, whose district includes the mine, called the announcement a "gut punch" and wrote: "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." Reuters reported it was not immediately clear why Mesabi chose Iowa, noting that commercial electricity prices there are marginally lower than in Minnesota.

Mesabi told CNBC the project would deliver "100% American steel: mined, melted and poured in Minnesota and Iowa." Asked in the Oval Office whether global sourcing would be needed, chairman Rewant Ruia said "most of the critical materials" would come from the U.S., but added that "there are some materials that might be used that need to be imported for making and refining the highest quality steels," The Guardian reported.

The announcement lands in a mixed industrial labor market. Factory employment fell by 113,000 in Trump's first year back in office and has risen by 56,000 this year through August, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by Reuters. The White House says nearly 6,000 steelworker jobs have been added under the administration. On the same day, CBC News reported that Cleveland-Cliffs is idling some production at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant and will lay off hundreds of workers, citing damage from U.S. tariffs, which stand at 50% on most steel imports.

The event came less than 40 days before midterm elections in which Iowa Republicans face competitive races for the Senate, House and governor. Trump said of the plant that "they've already started building," and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called it a "done deal." A factory Trump previously promoted at a similar scale, Foxconn's planned $10 billion plant in Wisconsin, was cut in 2021 to a $672 million investment and 1,454 jobs, down from 13,000.