Service center 72 Steel this week announced plans for a new reinforcing bar (rebar) mill near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but still has several hurdles to clear before starting construction.
New York-based 72 Steel plans to build a 500,000 short ton (st)/yr electric arc furnace (EAF) mill at J&L Steel's former tin mill site in Aliquippa. City and county permitting processes are ongoing and the sale of the land along the Ohio River has yet to close, Aliquippa mayor Dwan Walker told Argus.
72 Steel said the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) spurred the initial interest by the company to move forward with its own production, 72 Steel advisor Xiaoyan Zhang told Argus.
Aliquippa was chosen over other potential locations in West Virginia and North Carolina, as the site is already equipped to handle steel production with high-voltage power connections and transportation via rail, road and the river.
72 Steel expects the mill to begin operations in 2025, with early capacity likely around 250,000 st/yr, Zhang said. Production will at first be made up of only rebar, with further plans to expand the site to accommodate beam, anchor and other long product production.
Tenova has been selected to supply the EAF for the mill, Zhang said.
Costs are initially expected at $218mn, but will likely rise as construction begins, Zhang said.
Similar US projects underway have estimated costs of $350mn-500mn.
Funding is coming primarily from private Chinese-American investors and entrepreneurs from New York and New Jersey, Zhang added. Though there is no up-front injection of cash from state or local entities, 72 Steel is in conversations for tax benefits related to the 300-900 jobs expected to be created by the project.
The mill would add new steelmaking capacity in a region that, while long associated with the industry, has seen production dwindle in recent decades.
The mill announcement has generated some skepticism in the US rebar industry, especially with a relatively unknown company behind the project and the cost estimates.
72 Steel currently operates one service center in Brooklyn, New York.
The US rebar market is dominated by mills with national footprints like Commercial Metals (CMC), Nucor, Steel Dynamics and Gerdau.
Still, at least one other upstart, Highbar Steel, is planning multiple new rebar mills in the US, but is headed by US steel mill veteran Dave Stickler.
