Mesabi Metallics' $15 Billion Iowa Steel Plant: What Trump Announced, and What Has Actually Been Approved So Far
- 🔑 On Monday, September 28, 2026, President Trump announced that Mesabi Metallics, an Essar Group-owned company, plans a $15 billion steel complex in southeast Iowa. As of Saturday, October 3, 2026, it is a private company’s plan with a new state tax-credit law behind it, not a finished deal.
- Iowa has changed a law, not paid a bill. House File 2801 passed the House 75-17 and the Senate 28-19 on October 2 and was signed that day. It lets one qualifying rural project earn a tax credit of up to 10% over 10 years, paid only after the project operates and hires.
- The incentive figures differ because they measure different things. About $1.36 billion is the preliminary package, $1.4 billion is the rounded headline number, and up to $1.5 billion is the ceiling if the 10% credit applied to the full $15 billion. The Iowa Economic Development Authority must still approve a final contract.
- Financing for the $15 billion Iowa plant has not been disclosed. The only federal loan approved, $770 million from the Export-Import Bank on September 24, is for Mesabi’s Minnesota iron-ore mine, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Iowa plant gets no direct federal support.
- Officials say Lee County, but the exact site has not been named, and a local TV review of county records found no major land purchases or permits tied to the project as of September 29. No groundbreaking date has been announced. The company’s target for first steel is 2030.
- Jobs, output and economic-impact figures, including at least 1,750 permanent jobs and a projected $95 billion in economic output, are statements by Mesabi and the White House, not independent findings. Russia-related allegations come from press reporting, and Mesabi says it has no relationship with sanctioned entities.
Mesabi Metallics, an Essar Group-owned company, says it will build a $15 billion steel complex in southeast Iowa, and President Trump announced it on Monday, September 28, 2026, but as of Saturday, October 3, 2026, it is a private company’s plan backed by a new Iowa tax-credit law, not a finished deal. Iowa lawmakers passed that law on October 2. There is still no final state contract, named site or disclosed financing plan.
What did Trump announce on September 28?
On Monday, September 28, 2026, President Trump announced in the Oval Office that Mesabi Metallics plans a $15 billion steel complex in southeast Iowa, a private company’s project rather than a government spending program. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Export-Import Bank (EXIM) Chairman John Jovanovic and Iowa officials attended. Lutnick said the plant gets no direct federal support.
The headline numbers are claims by Mesabi and the White House: at least 1,750 permanent jobs, up to 6,000 construction jobs, first steel in 2030, and, according to news reports, 7.5 million tons a year at first, rising to 10 million. The White House calls it the largest steel plant ever built in the United States and cites a projected $95 billion in economic output over construction and the first decade of operations, a projection we cannot verify.
Mesabi’s own release says $18 billion, which adds about $3 billion to finish its Minnesota iron-ore mine to the $15 billion for Iowa.
What has Iowa actually approved so far?
Iowa has approved a change to its tax-credit rules, not a payment to Mesabi: House File 2801 passed in a one-day special session on Friday, October 2, 2026, and Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it that day. The House vote was 75-17 and the Senate vote was 28-19, with members of both parties on each side.
The bill changes the state’s Major Economic Growth Attraction (MEGA) program so one qualifying project in a rural county can earn a refundable, transferable investment tax credit of up to 10% instead of 5%, paid over 10 years instead of five. No credit is paid until the project, or a designated portion of it, is operating, and at least half of the associated jobs must be added at 140% or more of the state’s qualifying wage threshold. Clawbacks cover a sale or closure within 10 years and misrepresentation.
The money is not awarded yet. The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) must approve a full application and negotiate a final contract. A memorandum of understanding sets a 60-day negotiating window and has not been made public. State officials have said a proposal could reach the IEDA board as soon as November.
What do the $1.36 billion, $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion figures mean?
The $1.36 billion, $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion figures are three descriptions of the same contingent state incentive, and none is money Mesabi has received. About $1.36 billion is the preliminary package in legislative analysis: roughly $1.145 billion in investment tax credits, $154 million in sales-tax refunds and $60.5 million in withholding credits over 10 years. Some headlines round it to $1.4 billion, and up to $1.5 billion is the ceiling if the 10% credit applied to the full $15 billion.
CBS News put the package at about $777,000 per promised permanent job. Republican state Sen. Dan Dawson, who voted no, estimated roughly $880,000 and called it the largest corporate giveaway in Iowa history.
Is the federal government paying for the Iowa plant?
No federal financing for the Iowa plant has been announced, and Mesabi has not disclosed how it will pay for the $15 billion. EXIM’s board approved a $770 million direct loan on September 24, but EXIM’s own release says it is for Mesabi’s Minnesota iron-ore mine, whose ore would supply the Iowa plant. A larger “up to $10 billion” EXIM figure appears in coverage; a September 17 Mesabi release quotes Rep. Pete Stauber describing it as support for Mesabi’s Minnesota expansion. One trade publication tied $10 billion from EXIM to the Iowa plant, and we found nothing in EXIM’s release to support that.
Where in Iowa will the plant be built?
Officials say Lee County, in Iowa’s southeast corner along the Mississippi River, but the exact site has not been disclosed. One trade publication placed it near the Koch Fertilizer plant at Wever, a single unconfirmed report. A local TV station’s review of Lee County land records, published September 29, found no major property purchases tied to the project this year and no permits before county supervisors, and said that did not support Trump’s remark that construction had already started.
What do we know about the company behind it?
Mesabi Metallics, based in Nashwauk, Minnesota, is Essar Group-owned, and its history is what lawmakers and others have asked about. Mesabi’s release calls Essar the project sponsor. According to the Associated Press, Essar’s Minnesota steel unit filed for bankruptcy in July 2016 owing creditors about $1.1 billion, and, citing Minnesota press reports, failed to repay $66 million to the state and a local government for infrastructure.
The Guardian reported that Essar subsidiaries owed billions of dollars to VTB, a Russian state bank later sanctioned, and moved loans between entities in a way a sanctions expert said raised red flags, as the AP summarized. Mesabi says it has no relationship with sanctioned entities, and company attorneys told the Guardian that suggestions of circumvention are “without foundation.” These are press allegations with a company denial, not findings.
What are supporters and critics saying?
Supporters call it a major rural investment, while critics question its cost, the speed of the approval and the company’s record. Gov. Reynolds called it transformational, and Iowa’s congressional Republicans are quoted praising it in a White House release. Several Republican state senators voted no. Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, a Democrat, said the need for a vote showed the “done deal” description was wrong, and Minnesota Iron Range leaders called Iowa’s win a missed opportunity for Minnesota. The announcement came about five weeks before the November 3, 2026 midterms, and Trump has said he will hold an Iowa rally before then. We make no political forecasts.
What has not happened yet?
As of Saturday, October 3, 2026, Iowa has a signed law, but there is no signed state contract, named site, disclosed financing or construction.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| HF 2801 tax-credit law | Signed October 2 |
| IEDA board vote | Not held |
| Final state contract | Not signed |
| Exact site | Not disclosed |
| $15B financing plan | Not disclosed |
| Groundbreaking | None announced |
Mesabi’s Minnesota mine is also still starting up, and its CEO said in September that pellet production slipping into January was possible. We will add dated updates here as these items change. For the dates and seats at stake on November 3, see our 2026 midterm elections guide .
How we verified this
Fresh check at write time — We re-checked news-feed listings and the official release pages in the early afternoon, Eastern time, on Saturday, October 3, 2026. The newest items were October 3 reports on the October 2 vote and signing. None reported an Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) board vote, a signed final contract, a named site, a financing disclosure, a groundbreaking or a date for Trump’s promised Iowa rally. The page is pinned to that check.
Sources read — Primary documents: the White House’s September 30 release, two Mesabi releases (September 17 and 29) and EXIM’s September 28 release. Reporting: a wire service (read through several syndicated copies), a national broadcast network, a business-news network, public radio in Iowa and Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois regional TV and an Iowa state-capital news outlet (read through a syndicated copy), at least six independent news organizations by parent company. Several newspaper, wire and state-legislature pages blocked direct access, so some text came from syndicated copies and search summaries, which we cross-checked because automated summaries made errors, including a wrong announcement date and a garbled House tally.
Announcement date — One regional radio summary gave Monday, September 29. EXIM’s release (September 28), Mesabi’s release (posted September 29, describing the White House event) and national coverage all place the announcement on Monday, September 28, which we use. The White House’s follow-up release is dated September 30.
Vote tallies — The House 75-17 and Senate 28-19 totals match several outlets. Party breakdowns do not: counts of Republican senators voting no ranged from five to six, and the House breakdowns we saw did not add up to the totals. The Legislature’s bill page loaded only as a search interface, so we could not read the roll call and report totals only.
Incentive figures conflict — About $1.36 billion (roughly $1.145 billion investment credit, $154.35 million sales-tax refunds, $60.5 million withholding credits) follows the legislative analysis as reported by the wire service and public radio. $1.4 billion is a headline rounding, and up to $1.5 billion is 10% of $15 billion. Qualifying investment appeared as $11.15 billion in one outlet and $11.45 billion in another reading ($1.145 billion at 10% implies $11.45 billion), so we leave it out. The per-job figures are CBS News’s arithmetic (about $777,000, from $1.36 billion and 1,750 jobs) and Sen. Dan Dawson’s estimate (about $880,000, as reported by the state-capital outlet). Both are attributed, and neither is a payment per worker.
Financing — EXIM’s own release limits the approved loan to $770 million for the Minnesota mine, and Commerce Secretary Lutnick said the Iowa plant gets no direct federal support. The “up to $10 billion” EXIM figure appears in a September 17 Mesabi release quoting Rep. Pete Stauber about Mesabi’s Minnesota expansion. A trade publication tied it to the Iowa plant, which EXIM’s release does not support, so we do not repeat it as fact. Mesabi’s $18 billion release gives no funding plan for the $15 billion.
Site — Officials and local TV say Lee County and that the exact location within it is unconfirmed. The Wever and Koch Fertilizer placement is a single trade-publication report. The land-records finding is a local TV station’s own review, published September 29.
Company history and Russia-related allegations — The July 2016 bankruptcy, the roughly $1.1 billion owed to creditors and the $66 million infrastructure debt are the wire service’s figures, which it attributes to Minnesota press reporting for the $66 million. Another summary gave a different debt figure ($22 million still owed of $71 million), which we omit. The Russia-related allegations are The Guardian’s reporting as summarized by the wire service. Mesabi’s denial and its attorneys’ phrase “without foundation” come from that same account. We found no court or regulatory finding and state none. “Essar Group-owned” follows how CBS, CNBC and Minnesota public radio describe the company.
Claims we attribute rather than verify — Jobs (at least 1,750 permanent, up to 6,000 construction), 7.5 and 10 million tons a year, the 2030 first-steel target, “largest steel plant ever built in the US” and the $95 billion output projection are statements by Mesabi and the White House. We left out one outlet’s “one-tenth of US output” comparison, hourly wage figures (which varied across reports) and Foxconn follow-up numbers (which differ by outlet).
Still moving at write time — The IEDA board vote (state officials say possibly November), a final state contract, a named site, any financing disclosure, Trump’s promised Iowa rally and Mesabi’s Minnesota pellet start-up (its CEO said a slip into January was possible) were all unresolved. The November 3 midterms end the political framing.
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