en.Wedoany.com Reported - U. S. Steel has announced a $1.9 billion investment to construct a direct reduced iron (DRI) facility within its Big River Steel Works in Osceola, Arkansas, which the company says is the first project of its kind in the United States. The new facility will utilize the direct reduction-grade pellet production capacity from the company's Keetac iron ore plant in Minnesota, which began operations in 2022, creating a direct linkage between mining operations, feedstock production for electric arc furnaces, and steel manufacturing at Big River Steel.

Big River Steel is U. S. Steel's flat-rolled production base utilizing the electric arc furnace short-process route. Its Big River 2 expansion project, with an investment exceeding $3 billion, is now fully operational, bringing the total number of electric arc furnaces on site to four. According to previous company data, the commissioning of Big River 2 has increased the base's annual steel production capacity from 3 million tons to 6 million tons. Siting the DRI project within the Big River Steel complex reduces the need for external DRI transportation and enhances feedstock security for the electric arc furnaces.

U. S. Steel stated that the project will strengthen the domestic U.S. supply chain from Minnesota iron ore to Arkansas steel production. The company also noted that its partnership with Nippon Steel helped accelerate the investment timeline.

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