Essar Group Plans $18 Billion Investment in Largest-Ever US Steel Complex

The project, being developed through Essar-backed Mesabi Metallics, was announced at the White House in the presence of President Donald Trump and Essar Group founder Ravi Ruia and Mesabi Metallics Chairman Rewant Ruia.

For Rewant Ruia, who was born in India but spent much of his education in the US, the announcement carried personal significance.

“While I was born in India, I went to high school in New York, college in Boston, and did my MBA in California. I spent half my life here so announcing this investment today is a great honor and a true homecoming for me,” Ruia said at the White House.

The overall investment is expected to comprise $15 billion for the Iowa steel complex and about $3 billion toward completing Essar’s iron ore operations in Minnesota. The company has described the project as the largest single investment in a steel complex in US history.

There were some differences in the figures cited during the White House event. Essar founder Ravi Ruia put the total investment at approximately $18 billion, while US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick referred to a $2.5 billion Minnesota mine and a $15 billion Iowa plant. Rewant Ruia separately said the family would invest $3 billion in the Minnesota operation.

Once fully operational, the Iowa facility is planned to produce up to 10 million tons of steel annually, with iron ore supplied from Mesabi Metallics’ mine on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range. The company said the project will create an integrated domestic supply chain in which the raw material is mined in the US and processed into steel within the country.

Trump described the planned Iowa facility as the largest steel plant in American history. The first phase is expected to produce around 7.5 million tons of steel annually before expanding toward the 10-million-ton target. Production is expected to begin around 2030.

The project is also expected to generate thousands of jobs. The White House has projected 1,750 permanent Iowa jobs and up to 6,000 construction positions, while Mesabi Metallics has described the wider project as supporting more than 8,000 permanent and construction jobs across Minnesota and Iowa.

Ravi Ruia said the company’s decision represented the beginning of a new phase for the family business, which was founded by him and his brother Shashi Ruia and has developed interests spanning steel, energy, infrastructure and ports.

“We have now chosen to build our next major chapter here in America,” Ravi Ruia said, describing the Iowa project as the next major step for the group.

Rewant Ruia said the Minnesota mine would form the starting point of the supply chain, with the steelmaking operation in Iowa completing the connection between raw material production and finished steel manufacturing.

“This project writes the next chapter for our company and our family,” he said.

The project also involves public-sector support for the Minnesota operation. Lutnick said the US Export-Import Bank had helped finance the mine, while the Iowa steel plant would be privately funded. Details of the financing arrangements and the precise construction schedule for the steel complex were not disclosed at the announcement.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds welcomed the investment, saying the project could create opportunities for workers, suppliers and businesses in the state. Mesabi Metallics is expected to work with local companies as construction and development progress.

The planned investment brings together Minnesota’s long-established iron ore industry with a new large-scale steelmaking facility in Iowa. Mesabi Metallics recently opened what the company and US officials have described as the first new iron ore mine in the United States in more than 50 years.

The scale of the project means the announced employment, production and economic-impact figures remain projections until construction, equipment installation and commissioning are completed. If delivered as planned, the Iowa complex would significantly expand Essar’s presence in the US steel industry and establish an integrated mine-to-steel supply chain across two states.