Mesabi Steel Plant: Trump Allies Stand to Gain, Probe Finds
The mesabi steel plant project at the center of President Donald Trump’s manufacturing pitch is drawing new scrutiny after a Star Tribune investigation reported that Trump allies stand to gain from the Minnesota ore company’s Iowa steel ambitions.
Mesabi Metallics, the Minnesota-based company owned by India’s Essar Group, is developing a $3 billion iron ore mine in Nashwauk — described as the first new U.S. iron ore mine in 50 years — and a proposed $15 billion steel complex in Iowa. Trump unveiled the plan at the White House on September 29, calling it the largest steel plant investment in American history, with initial production of up to 7.5 million tons a year targeted for 2030 and a projected $95 billion in total economic output.
The Lobbying Web Behind the Deal
The company has hired several lobbyists, including former Trump adviser Jason Miller. Lobbying disclosure records show Mesabi Metallics paid at least $240,000 to SHW Partners, Miller’s government-relations firm, and the Indian government separately paid the firm $150,000 a month for strategic counsel — a contract Miller says ended in June 2026.
Four days before Trump’s announcement, the U.S. Export-Import Bank approved a $770 million loan to Mesabi Metallics, according to CBS News. Public Citizen’s co-president Robert Weissman has argued the overlapping ties would be treated as a “monumental scandal” in any other administration.
A Troubled History in the Iron Range
The company’s past complicates the celebratory pitch. The Minnesota mine project filed for bankruptcy a decade ago, the state withdrew its iron ore leases at one point, and Gov. Tim Walz said the company’s problems had caused “incredible heartache” in the Iron Range. Minnesota officials say Mesabi Metallics is now current on a repayment plan for its pre-bankruptcy debts to the state, and the mine set off its first production blast on September 17.
In Iowa, the project has also faced skepticism. Lawmakers approved $1.36 billion in tax incentives over 10 years in a special session, prompting environmental and fiscal critics to ask whether the state can afford the largesse. With a tight Iowa Senate race on the ballot in November — Republican Ashley Hinson trails Democrat Josh Turek by eight points in a recent Marist poll — the steel plant has become as much a campaign prop as an industrial bet.
Source: Star Tribune