# $15 billion iron smelter proposed for rural southeastern Iowa **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 30, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493 "2026-09-30T22:08:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/1 "2026-09-30T22:08:37Z")
I’ll believe any of this is going to happen when I see it. Why aren’t they building it in Minnesota, Michigan, or Wisconsin, where iron ore is actually still mined? And the biggest question: Which Third World country are we going to invade, to produce refugees to work there when they realize Americans won’t touch that place with a 39 1/2 foot pole, due to the pay and working conditions? > **[Trump announces plan for $15 billion steel plant, would be largest in U.S....](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/28/trump-steel-plant-iowa.html)** > > Trump's announcement with Mesabi Metallics comes as Americans' souring views of the economy are poised to shape the upcoming midterm election. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/2 "2026-09-30T22:14:50Z")
Another issue is that there already an excess of steel production worldwide. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/3 "2026-09-30T22:29:21Z")
I wonder who owns that company nobody has ever heard of? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/4 "2026-09-30T22:33:20Z")
Good question! According to this, it’s an Indian company propped up with Russian money. Figures. > **[Indian firm building $15bn Trump-announced steel mill has deep Russia ties](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/29/indian-firm-building-15bn-trump-announced-steel-mill-has-deep-russia-ties)** > > Russian cash helped Essar, the firm behind the steel factory, manage major debts. Now the group is investing in the US. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/5 "2026-10-01T03:44:13Z")
The company’s history raises serious questions if they will be able to complete the project: > ### Essar’s troubled first attempt in Minnesota > > Essar entered Minnesota in 2007 and took over a project to develop an iron-ore mine and pellet plant at Nashwauk. Construction began, but the project missed deadlines and ran into financing problems. > > By 2016, Essar Steel Minnesota had accumulated about $1 billion in debt and entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The project emerged from bankruptcy in 2017 under the name Mesabi Metallics and new ownership. Mesabi was the successor to Essar Steel Minnesota and took over the partially built project. Essar re-entered the project in 2018, buying $260 million of its debt and eventually regaining control. There were further disputes over mineral leases, including litigation that reached the Minnesota Supreme Court. [https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/who-are-the-ruias-and-how-did-essar-land-america-s-15-bn-steel-project-126092900362\_1.html](https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/who-are-the-ruias-and-how-did-essar-land-america-s-15-bn-steel-project-126092900362_1.html) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/6 "2026-10-01T03:46:41Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > The company’s history raises serious questions if they will be able to complete the project: The history of the person announcing the project raises serious questions about anything ever happening with it at all. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/7 "2026-10-01T04:02:30Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > The history of the person announcing the project raises serious questions about anything ever happening with it at all. Yeah. The mill is not wanted and the steel is not really needed- the US produces about 84% of what we need- with our current mills only at 80% capacity. > **[Industry Data - American Iron and Steel Institute](https://www.steel.org/industry-data/)** > > AISI serves as the voice of the American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the preferred material of choice. Yes, sometimes when we can get the steel cheap, we import some. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/8 "2026-10-01T04:49:30Z")
But think of the tariffs! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/9 "2026-10-01T13:53:00Z")
Apparently this site is located somewhere that’s near the industrial end consumers, ore producers, on the Mississippi, and that has access to the rail network, natural gas pipelines and high voltage power. Basically the ore can come down the river on barges, get smelted, and have a short trip to the end consumers in the Midwest. Plus, Iowa’s power grid is largely wind-powered, so there’s some chance sustainability is a consideration. That’s what Google Gemini and Claude say anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/10 "2026-10-01T14:02:21Z")
One article on this project said this would be the first new large steel mill built since the 1960s. Did it occur to anyone to wonder why that is? It’s all sounding like Trump’s support for coal mines, drilling for oil and the like; he’s firmly interested in yesterday’s industry, while specifically rejecting things like solar power and windmill projects (and electric vehicles). ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/11 "2026-10-01T16:28:01Z")
I’m waiting for the announcement that if the Republicans keep control of Congress, every American will receive an iron smelter. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/12 "2026-10-02T08:01:50Z")
Not even that. A five-kilo steel bar rolled with Trump’s face on it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/13 "2026-10-02T09:23:44Z")
They could just get farmers to smelt iron themselves. It [worked so well in China](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backyard_furnace). ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/14 "2026-10-02T11:23:30Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > And the biggest question: Which Third World country are we going to invade, to produce refugees to work there when they realize Americans won’t touch that place with a 39 1/2 foot pole, due to the pay and working conditions? I have a relative who moved to WV to work at the new Nucor plant, which has seen no shortage of employment interest from locals and people willing to move for work. Even if the job estimates aren’t inflated (e.g., including temporary construction jobs\*), it’s less than 2k people. Very different from, say, trying to backfill for 350k Haitian workers losing Temporary Protected Status. That’s not to say this isn’t a corrupt boondoggle that may never happen. But finding workers isn’t the issue here. \*ETA I see their official announcement lists that as permanent jobs, with 6k construction jobs ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/15 "2026-10-02T11:54:25Z")
The plant doesn’t have to actually get built. As long as plans for the Potemkin Steel Works collapse _after_ the November election, everything’s good. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/16 "2026-10-02T12:48:42Z")
I expect the plant, if built, is going to be largely automated and few jobs are going to involve wearing protective gear while manipulating crucibles of molten steel. Instead, many of the employees will be staring at screens and buttons while machines do the work. Trump previously tried to win support for keeping coal mines open, but those too use machinery more than people with pickaxes. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/17 "2026-10-02T13:18:48Z")
I believe he’s (maybe his GOP handlers) largely pandering to the elderly and ignorant; when they think of American industry that’s left, they think steelmaking, coal mining, car manufacturing, and stuff like that. So that’s what he’s emphasizing, because that’s what resonates the most with them. Doesn’t really matter that most of that is not economically viable, as he’s not actually doing this because it’s what’s best for the nation, it’s what’s best for him and the party. If it was what is best for the nation, he’d be diving into solar, EVs, biotech, robotics, and a whole host of tech-related things. There’s also the element of his voter base is largely high school educated blue collar workers in the countryside, and they’re the ones most displaced over the last five decades by labor intensive work moving offshore. The larger problem is that even if we brought back all the industry that moved overseas since the 1960s, we’d _still_ have unemployment problems in those areas because automation has significantly reduced the number of workers needed. Look at that proposed steel mill. 15 billion in investment and a paltry 1750 jobs. By comparison, the big steel mills of the past, like Chicago’s US Steel South Works and Bethlehem Steel’s plant employed tens of thousands each. By comparison, 1700-1800 workers is a typical Amazon fulfillment center worth of workers. Similarly, agriculture used to employ a lot more people than it currently does. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/18 "2026-10-02T13:56:10Z")
I agree that these projects sound nice but really aren’t going to result in massive numbers of employees. Another example; the enormous amount of money going into AI data centers. One proposed for Ohio might involve investment of $500 billion. And yet, I’ve been in operating data centers that had almost no full-time employees. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/19 "2026-10-02T14:02:01Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The larger problem is that even if we brought back all the industry that moved overseas since the 1960s, we’d _still_ have unemployment problems in those areas because automation has significantly reduced the number of workers needed. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > aren’t going to result in massive numbers of employees Is that not the very point of automation? The promise, if not the reality, was that you could sit back and enjoy a cold beer while robots do all the work and generate all the wealth, not that the glorious future would have you busting your ass in a steel mill. I mean, even if a steel works were a good idea, having 10,000 people working there would be absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493/20 "2026-10-02T14:04:41Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Which Third World country are we going to invade, to produce refugees to work there when they realize Americans won’t touch that place with a 39 1/2 foot pole, due to the pay and working conditions? I have a 50 foot pole, and I won’t go near it, either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-billion-iron-smelter-proposed-for-rural-southeastern-iowa/1033493.md?page=2)