United States Steel Corporation (US Steel) has announced a $1.9 billion investment to build a direct reduced iron (DRI) facility at its Big River Steel Works campus in Arkansas, the first integrated DRI plant of its kind in the US.
The facility will be fed by DR-grade pellets produced at US Steel's ore operations at Keetac plant in Minnesota, completing a vertically integrated supply chain that runs from iron ore mining through electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking under one domestic operation. With four EAFs now fully operational at Big River, following the company's $3 billion-plus Big River 2 expansion, co-locating DRI production on the same plant eliminates the need to transport feedstock to the site.
The project is expected to support approximately 200 permanent positions at Big River Steel Works and 35 embedded contractor roles, with construction employment peaking at an estimated 2,000 jobs.
"From iron ore in Minnesota to steel production in Arkansas, this $1.9 billion investment strengthens our ability to create steel that is truly mined, melted, made in America, from start to finish," said David Burritt, US Steel President and CEO.
He also stated that the company's partnership with Nippon Steel with accelerating the project's timeline. Nippon Steel pledged $11 billion in US Steel investments through 2028 after acquiring the company in 2025 for $14.9 billion.