U.S. Steel breaks ground on $1.9 billion building

OSCEOLA, Ark. (KAIT) - U.S. Steel broke ground Friday on a $1.9 billion direct reduced iron facility at its Big River Steel Works campus in Osceola.

The project connects U.S. Steel’s Minnesota iron ore mines directly to its electric arc furnaces in Mississippi County. The massive capital investment is expected to create 200 full-time jobs.

“Community is always important to a project like this,” Jim Bell said, vice president of operations and construction engineering, “Big River employs 1,800 employees right now; to add another 200 in this rural part of Arkansas always means a lot to these counties.”

Brown projects the buildout to take 32 months, including a year of engineering and equipment delivery followed by two years of on-site construction. The company expects to have its first production run in early 2029.

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