President Donald Trump is scheduled to announce a $15 billion project on Monday to build a steel mill in Iowa. According to a White House official, the project will be led by Mesabi Metallics, a Minnesota-based company that recently opened the first new iron ore mine in Minnesota in 50 years. The administration is highlighting the investment as part of its efforts to promote domestic manufacturing.
The project is designed to be vertically integrated, with the new Minnesota mine supplying the raw iron ore needed for steel production at the Iowa facility. The White House official stated that the plant is expected to begin steelmaking operations in 2030. Production is estimated to start at 7.5 million tons of steel annually, with the potential to reach an output of 10 million tons.
The development is expected to create 1,750 permanent positions in Iowa and approximately 350 jobs at the $2.5 billion Minnesota mine. During the initial construction phase, a White House official said the project would support between 5,000 and 6,000 construction jobs. Mesabi Metallics executives are scheduled to join the president in the Oval Office at 2 p.m. for the announcement, alongside Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Export-Import Bank Chairman John Jovanovic.
The scale of the $15 billion investment is intended to secure domestic supply chains. According to the administration, the steel produced at this site may support future U.S. defense projects. The project links the extraction of iron ore directly to high-capacity steel milling within a single corporate pipeline. This move follows the president's decision last year to increase tariffs on imported steel to 50% to protect domestic producers from overseas competition.
What happens next: The official announcement is set for Monday afternoon, September 28, 2026, at the White House. While the investment and general job targets have been released, Mesabi Metallics has not yet announced the specific location in Iowa where the plant will be constructed. The projected date for the plant to be operational and producing steel is 2030. The announcement also falls less than 40 days before the midterm elections, during which Iowa Republicans are participating in several competitive House and Senate races. All timelines for hiring and production remain dependent on the successful completion of the multi-year construction phase.