US Steel today announced that its planned $3 billion steel mill will be located in Osceola, Arkansas, close to US Steel’s Big River Steel plant.
The new mill is expected to feature two electric arc furnaces (EAFs) with 3 million tons per year of advanced steelmaking capability, a state-of-the-art endless casting and rolling line, and advanced finishing capabilities. In a press release, the company said, “this first use of endless casting and rolling technology in the United States brings significant energy, efficiency, and capability enhancements to the company’s operations.”
Upon completion, this project will apply to become LEED certified. The company said the site selection is subject to a number of factors, including final agreements with key partners. Permitting for the project is underway and the company expects to break ground in the first quarter of 2022, with project completion and full operation anticipated in 2024.
When completed, the new steelmaking facility in combination with Big River Steel will form a 6.3 million ton “mega mill,” and the company said the new non-grain oriented electrical steel and galvalume/galvanizing lines currently under construction at Big River Steel will further advance US Steel’s ability to respond to customers’ “pressing supply chain needs.”
US Steel said the location affords abundant, increasingly renewable and clean power from Entergy Arkansas, superior Class 1 rail service from BNSF with connections to other railroads, Mississippi River docks and interstate trucking access.