Steel Mills

US Steel Celebrates Start of Construction of Gary Works Pig Iron Caster

May 26, 2022

Construction of a new pig iron caster has begun at US Steel’s Gary Works with start-up expected early next year.

US Steel employees joined United Steelworkers leaders and others this week in Indiana to celebrate the $60 million investment.

The company’s Minntac and Keetac Minnesota ore operations will feed the pig iron facility, which sports annual capacity of 500,000 tons per year. And the pig iron produced at Gary will supply US Steel’s Big River Steel Works in Arkansas with 50% of its ore-based metallic needs.

“This investment at Gary Works, to create the necessary material for our lower-emissions electric arc furnaces, is the perfect example of combining the best of integrated and mini mill technologies. … We’re committed to a future of driving profitable steel solutions for people and the planet,” US Steel president and CEO David B. Burritt said.

“Gary Works is US Steel’s largest manufacturing plant and its role in the company and in this community is significant,” said Daniel Killeen, vice president of Gary Works. “Knowing that the nearly 4,000 employees at Gary Works are not just contributing here, but we now get to utilize our blast furnace efficiency to contribute to the company’s new, most environmentally friendly operations at Big River Steel Works, is something we’re excited about.”

“The process of pigging iron will help secure our plant in an ever-changing global market,” noted Gus Atsas, president of USW Local 1014.

USS Gary Works Pig Iron Caster

Pictured above: Rendering of the pig iron caster being built at U. S. Steel Gary Works.

By Laura Miller, Laura@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.