CONFIRMEDDate confidence: CONFIRMEDStated as firmHow firmly the source words the date: confirmed, scheduled, estimated, delayed or unverified.Show all CONFIRMED pins86% CONFIDENCEOverall confidence: 86%How well the pin's source and references back up its dates.Weighted average of how firmly 6 references, the source included, support the pin's start and end times; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newestShow all pins at 75% confidence or better5 days agoCNBC[1], 28 Sep 2026: "The Oval Office announcement with Mesabi Metallics, which began at 2 p.m. ET"; MPR News[6] gives the same slot as "1 p.m. CT", which is 18:00 UTC.
President Donald Trump announced in the Oval Office at 2 p.m. ET on 28 September 2026 that Mesabi Metallics will invest about $15 billion in a steel plant in Iowa, which the White House calls the largest of its kind in US history and the first mega steel plant built in the country since the 1960s.
The plant is due to start producing steel in 2030. Its first phase is put at about 7.5 million tons a year with up to 6,000 construction jobs, rising to 10 million tons a year and at least 1,750 permanent jobs. It will run on iron ore from Mesabi's new mine at Nashwauk on Minnesota's Iron Range, and Iowa lawmakers have discussed tax incentives for a plant in Lee County in the state's southeast.
The announcement came weeks before the November midterm elections, as Trump pointed to his 50% steel tariffs as the driver of new US steel investment.
$15B
United States Army
