Proposed North Dakota pig iron plant to turn Minnesota mine waste into steel, a first for US 

North American Iron plans to develop a 2,400-acre site near Minot to produce pig iron, an essential ingredient in steel-making. The operation, which could produce 2 million metric tons annually, would be the first of its kind in the country and aims to boost domestic production.

Jim Bougalis, CEO and founder of North American Iron and sister company Calumet Reclamation Co., said high tariffs and global conflict, coupled with North Dakota’s interest in the project, added to its momentum. 

The facility is slated to bring 650 permanent jobs to the Minot area.

“This is one of those projects that adds an economic pillar to our city and region,” said Mark Lyman, economic development specialist for the Minot Area Chamber. “It being so brand new adds diversification to our economy.”

Iron to feed the country for ‘centuries’

The Mesabi Iron Range, famous for its mining activity, encompasses over 100 miles of northeastern Minnesota, where industry and population has ebbed and flowed drastically for nearly 150 years, ramping up when the price of ore does and downturning when it falls. 

Because America’s steel-ready pig iron is imported from other countries, the Trump administration’s aggressive tariff policies have made it expensive to import from major producing countries — namely Brazil, Ukraine and Russia. The military depends heavily on the material to build things like warheads, submarines and aircrafts.  

Bougalis grew up on the range in Hibbing, just down the road from Calumet where his company holds mineral leases for millions of tons of iron-rich waste sitting on 20 square miles. 

Minnesota has enough iron to feed the country for centuries, according to Bougalis, who claims there are approximately 3 billion tons sitting on the surface of the range. 

Stockpiles dating back to the second World War stretch city blocks and stand like small mountains, some over 300 feet tall. Soon, the waste will be railed nearly 500 miles to Minot.

The project is being touted as a low-impact way to domestically produce iron, not only because it will put to use idle waste, but because it will be processed using newer technology that emits far less carbon than traditional processing. 

In essence, the rock or “feed stock” is crushed and made into preconcentrate, material that resembles a pile of wet sand. That process takes place in Minnesota before hitting the rail to North Dakota. 

When it reaches the pig iron plant, the material is then concentrated into a finer sand or dirt-like substance before transforming into small iron pellets to be later used for steel.

Pig iron factories have historically involved workers shoveling coal into huge blast furnaces to burn oxygen off the iron, turning ore into liquid and emitting carbon dioxide in the process. It’s among the most intensive parts of production. 

The facility going up in Minot, however, will use a lower-temperature chemical process to remove the oxygen from the iron ore without turning it into liquid. The highly mechanized system has both less risky working conditions and fewer emissions, reflecting how technological advancements have changed the industry. 

Instead of using coal to refine the ore, the facility will use the hydrogen found in natural gas, which emits water vapor, not carbon dioxide. 

The company is working with the Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota to explore the potential for underground carbon dioxide storage at the site, Bougalis said. No applications have been filed so far for carbon sequestration wells, and planning materials submitted to state environmental regulators don’t include that process.

Minot’s new neighbor

The project was initially proposed for Underwood, North Dakota, but is now planned for industrial land northeast of Minot near the Air Force base. Renderings show the tallest structure standing more than 250 feet, a height that rivals the North Dakota Capitol. 

It will recycle city waste water, not drinking water, using a closed-looped system, Lyman said. A heavy film will be sprayed over the ore in Minnesota to minimize dust as it travels. 

A major component of the planned site is using natural gas produced in western North Dakota. WBI Energy is proposing the Minot Industrial Pipeline, an 87-mile project to bring up to 250 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from Tioga, according to the North Dakota Pipeline Authority. A WBI spokesperson said the project is still under development and the final scope is subject to customer commitments, regulatory review and final project approvals. The pipeline would require approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The pig iron plant also will involve construction of a 300-megawatt natural gas-fired power generation facility at the Minot site, according to Bougalis.

“The opportunity to keep natural gas in the state and use it to the benefit of a new industry is a win all around,” Lyman said.

Reclaimed ore, high prices mean Minnesota iron could head to North Dakota

The 650 jobs added to Minot will include high-paying jobs, company leaders say. 

When it comes to finding workers, Calumet Reclamation plans to start recruiting locally with North Dakota universities and the Minot Air Force Base. It will then turn its efforts national before handing off recruitment to a third party for building an immigrant workforce, if necessary, according to Bougalis. 

Lyman of Minot said the city has plenty of housing to accommodate the incoming workforce. Peak construction will entail up to 4,000 jobs. 

“I don’t think we’re in some housing crunch that’s unsolvable, even with a couple thousand employees. But still, we’re thinking about that. We’re already talking with property developers,” he said. 

Why North Dakota? 

Access to surplus power, quicker permitting and existing infrastructure makes it cheaper to build a factory in North Dakota than in Minnesota, Bougalis said. 

He said North Dakota has also become one of the project’s biggest investors, putting in $7 million from the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority and just over $2.6 million from the Department of Commerce. 

Northwest Landowners Association Chairman Troy Coons said the group doesn’t have an official stance on the project, but he hopes the development adequately addresses environmental and landowner impacts on the front end.

He noted that industries often come to North Dakota for processing because Minnesota regulations are more strict. 

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is conducting an environmental review known as an environmental assessment worksheet. Once that becomes public, which is anticipated this fall, that will prompt a 30-day public comment period, according to a spokesperson. After that, the department will evaluate whether a more rigorous environmental impact statement is required, the department said.

Company proposes to upcycle Minnesota iron mine waste in central North Dakota

In North Dakota, regulators are evaluating an application for an air quality permit, said Karl Rockeman, deputy director of the Department of Environmental Quality.

Together, various aspects of the operation — from the gas-powered energy generation to the iron roasting machines — will be considered a “major source” of potential air pollution under the Clean Air Act, meaning the company will have to demonstrate its emissions are below a certain threshold and monitored regularly, Rockeman said.

The department’s Division of Solid Waste also will evaluate the project, Rockeman said.

Both reviews require a 30-day public comment period, neither of which have happened yet. Rockeman said the company could also need a permit for wastewater disposal, but that plan is still being developed. 

The company’s application for an air quality permit can be found on the department’s public portal. 

Calumet Reclamation and North American Iron expect permitting to be completed this fall, with construction expected to begin around 2027 and production commencing in 2029.