The permitting process for a new pig iron processing plant near Minot is nearly complete.
That from the founder and CEO of the Calumet Reclamation Company and North American Iron.
"The Minot site is going to produce two million tons of pig iron per year," said CEO Jim Bougalis.
The plant will be northeast of Minot.
"It will provide pig iron to the U. S. steel industry," Bougalis said. "There's a low supply globally. We need much more than what's being produced."
And Bougalis added this will be the "highest purity" form of iron for steel, anywhere in the world.
The material will be shipped from Hibbing, Minnesota to Minot via rail.
"Minot has the largest rail yard in North Dakota," Bougalis added. "It's a direct ship right to Minot."
Bougalis also said the availability of natural gas, for production and for an on-site power plant, was a strong factor.
"Minot is a progressive, industrious city," Bougalis said. "We feel right at home there."
Minot Area Chamber-EDC economic development specialist Mark Lyman called its an "exciting opportunity" for Minot.
"We rely on four or five key economic factors in our region," Lyman said. "To add a fight, sixth or seventh is always what we're going for."
Lyman said this will add hundreds of jobs in the Minot area, as well as in northern Minnesota.
