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Firing on all cylinders: Essar Group reclaims its place in steel. The Ruias-controlled Essar Group after exiting most of its steel assets years ago to clear debts is now more confident and assertive today than ever before. In fact, Essar is now firing on all cylinders for big ticket investment plans spread across the U.S., Saudi Arabia, India and others. Recently, the conglomerate captured major international headlines when the U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Essar-backed Mesabi Metallics will invest $18 billion to build America's largest integrated steel plant complex in Iowa, America - producing 10 MTPA of steel annually using iron ore from Essar mines in Minnesota, USA. Similarly, in Saudi Arabia also, Essar is said to be gearing up to set up 4 MTPA green steel plant in Ras Al-Khair to capture the Middle Eastern industrial boom. And in India, Essar is executing a Rs 12,000 crore project to build a 14 million tonne iron ore pellet complex in Keonjhar in Odisha and a slurry pipeline to Paradip port. Essar's aspiration does not end here, it is now going back to its roots Gujarat. Sources say Essar is also exploring an investment of $ 5 billion in the next few years to set up a 8-million tonne steel manufacturing plant in Gujarat. It may be mentioned Essar Steel was among the first list of the largest 12 stressed accounts that the RBI had drawn up in June 2017. The company was acquired by ArcelorMittal in 2019 under the NCLT and a final Supreme Court ruling.

India's Essar Group to invest $18 billion in 'largest' US steel plant, Trump announces. Edited by: Vivek Dubey / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Updated: Sep 29, 2026, 08:19 IST 74 Comments President Donald Trump speaks as from right, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Essar Capital Director Prashant Ruia, Mesabi Metallics Chairman Rewant Ruia and Mesabi Metallics CEO Joe Broking US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced plans by Indian conglomerate Essar Group, through its US subsidiary Mesabi Metallics, to invest about $18 billion in a major steel plant in Iowa. Trump made the announcement at the White House alongside Essar Group co-founder Ravi Ruia and Mesabi Metallics chairman Rewant Ruia, describing the project as the largest steel plant in American history. "Today we're thrilled to announce that Mesabi Metallics will be building the largest steel plant in American history in the great state of Iowa. It's the largest plant, one of the largest plants in the world, but it's the largest plant in America by far," Trump told reporters. - ANI (@ANI) The facility is expected to produce 10 million tonnes of steel a year once fully operational, with production targeted to begin in 2030. The project is also expected to create thousands of jobs during construction and nearly 2,000 permanent positions across the steel and mining operations. Project to link Minnesota iron ore mine with Iowa steel plant The Iowa plant will form part of an integrated US supply chain, with iron ore sourced from a new mine being developed by Mesabi Metallics in Minnesota's Mesabi Iron Range. You May Like The company has invested about $2.5 billion in the mine, which is expected to produce around 7.5 million tonnes of iron annually and create about 350 jobs. Rewant Ruia said he was born in India but had studied in New York, Boston and California, adding that he had spent half his life in the US and described the investment as "a true homecoming". He said the project would establish a fully integrated supply chain "from mine to mill". Trump highlighted the domestic nature of the operation, saying the Minnesota mine would be "the first new iron ore mine in the United States in more than 50 years with the highest quality ore." "In other words, this steel will be mined, melted, and made right here in the USA, which is something very unusual," Trump said. Rewant Ruia thanked the president "for bringing back the importance of building things in America." He also said the plant would use advanced technology and "will compete head-to-head with any steel plant in the world on size, quality and on cost." Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick attributed the investment partly to the administration's steel tariffs. Trump said companies were building in the US "because they don't want to pay tariffs". End of Article

Trump has announced the construction of a $15 billion steelworks in Iowa. The first products are expected to be produced in 2030. US President Donald Trump has announced plans by Mesabi Metallics to build a steelworks in Iowa with an investment of $15 billion. This is reported by Reuters. The new complex will be fully vertically integrated: iron ore from the new Mesabi mine in Nashwak, Minnesota, will be used to produce steel in Iowa. The first phase of the project envisages an annual output of 7.5 million tonnes of steel, with capacity subsequently increasing to 10 million tonnes. The White House has already described this facility as the largest steelworks in US history. According to the White House, the project will create at least 1,750 permanent jobs, as well as up to 6,000 temporary jobs during the construction phase. The total economic impact of the first phase, covering the construction period and the first 10 years of operation, is expected to reach $95 billion. The first production is scheduled for 2030. Mesabi is owned by the Indian conglomerate Essar Group, which has already invested over $2.5 billion in a mining operation in Minnesota. Previously, the US Export-Import Bank announced that it would provide $10 billion to finance the expansion of this mine. The investment announcement was made during a fiercely contested election campaign in Iowa for Senate seats and the governorship. The project is intended to demonstrate the effectiveness of Trump's protectionist policy, which is based on higher import duties. Whilst the global steel market is suffering from overcapacity (particularly in China), trade barriers in the US are keeping domestic prices high, making large-scale construction projects economically viable. At the same time, tariffs are putting pressure on neighbouring markets: for instance, the Canadian company Cleveland-Cliffs has announced production cuts and the redundancy of hundreds of workers at its plant in Ontario precisely because of the impact of US tariffs. As reported by GMK Center, the South Korean companies Hyundai Steel and POSCO have begun construction of a steelworks in the state of Louisiana (USA) at a cost of $5.8 billion. The annual capacity will be 2.7 million tonnes of hot-rolled, cold-rolled and galvanised steel, including 1.8 million tonnes of automotive steel sheets and 900,000 tonnes of general-purpose steel. Mass production is due to begin in 2029.