New steel mill slated for Big River Steel Works campus

When Japanese-based Nippon Steel Corporation was allowed to acquire U.S. Steel earlier this summer, one of the requirements for the merger was the company had to commit to investing an additional $11 billion in U.S. operations by 2028.

It appears part of that investment will be in Northeast Arkansas.

U.S. Steel announced Wednesday (Nov. 12) it will build a direct reduced iron plant on the Big River Steel Works campus in Osceola. U.S. Steel spokeswoman Amanda Malkowski told Talk Business & Politics that details such as how much the project will cost and how many people it will employ will be released at a later date.

“Our new direct reduced iron (DRI) plant at Big River Steel Works in Arkansas will propel our Mini Mill segment toward industry leadership in advanced, sustainable steel production,” she said.

It will use DR-grade pellets from the company’s Minnesota Ore facility, and it will produce DRI feedstock for electric arc furnaces for steel mills.

“It will bolster our raw materials edge and strengthen a dependable domestic supply chain. This investment highlights our partnership with Nippon Steel as we collaborate to execute impactful projects,” Malkowski said.

A timetable for the construction of the new facility was not released.

Nippon spent $15 billion to acquire U.S. Steel. The merger had been opposed by the Biden administration for more than a year due to national security concerns.

The Trump administration allowed for the merger to move forward after Nippon agreed to the investment and agreed to a national security agreement (NSA) and “golden share” provision that gives the federal government the ability to appoint at least one board member and will have input on domestic steel production decisions.