U.S. Steel breaks ground on $1.9 billion direct reduced iron plant in Osceola, Arkansas
U.S. Steel started work Oct. 30 on a $1.9 billion plant to make direct reduced iron on its Big River Steel Works campus in Osceola, Arkansas. The company expects about 2,000 construction workers on site at peak and 200 permanent jobs once the plant runs.
The plant will stand next to Big River 2, the $3 billion mill that began making steel in 2024, according to the company's announcement. Direct reduced iron is made by stripping oxygen out of iron ore without melting it. At Osceola it will go hot straight into the electric arc furnaces in place of prime scrap, and some will be pressed into hot briquetted iron for shipping. The ore comes from U.S. Steel's Minnesota mines. The company calls the facility the first of its kind.
Preliminary site preparation is under way, and the company said construction should begin late in 2026. Daniel Brown, chief operating officer of Big River Steel Works, expects the job to run 32 months, starting with engineering and equipment delivery, KAIT reported. First production is planned for early 2029.
The Big River campus in Mississippi County already runs four electric arc furnaces and makes more than 6 million tons of steel a year. Jim Bell, vice president of operations and construction engineering, told KAIT the site has 1,800 employees now.
Neither the company nor local coverage named a general contractor, engineering firm or process technology supplier for the plant.
Why it matters: A 32-month heavy industrial job with 2,000 workers at peak in rural northeast Arkansas will draw concrete, steel erection, electrical and other craft labor from across the Mid-South. Subs in the region should watch for the engineering and construction awards.
Sources
- U. S. Steel Breaks Ground on $1.9 Billion Arkansas Direct Reduced Iron Production PlantU. S. Steel (Business Wire), Oct 30
- U.S. Steel breaks ground on $1.9B buildingKAIT 8, Oct 30