The Big River Steel Works expansion is a $3 billion electric arc furnace steel mill located in Osceola, Arkansas, and it has grown well beyond its original 2022 announcement. Known as Big River 2, the facility was completed ahead of schedule in late 2025 and reached full production capacity in early 2026, according to U.S. Steel, doubling the campus to six million tons of steel annually.
Big River Steel Works Adds a $1.9 Billion Direct Reduced Iron Plant
U.S. Steel, now a Nippon Steel subsidiary, announced a further $1.9 billion direct reduced iron facility for the Osceola campus in April 2026. The expansion echoes the company’s $475 million Q&T investment in Fairfield, Alabama, part of the wider $11 billion pledge made under Nippon Steel’s national security agreement with the federal government.
Project Overview
- Project Name: Big River Steel Works Expansion (Big River 2 / BR2)
- Location: Osceola, Arkansas, United States
- Project Value: $3 billion for the BR2 expansion, plus a further $1.9 billion direct reduced iron facility announced in 2026
- Client or Owner: U.S. Steel, a subsidiary of Nippon Steel
- Key Components: Two electric arc furnaces, an endless casting and rolling line, advanced finishing capabilities, and a new direct reduced iron facility
- Capacity: Doubled the Osceola campus to six million tons of raw steel annually
- Construction Start: Announced January 2022
- Expected Completion: BR2 completed ahead of schedule in late 2025, reaching full capacity in early 2026; the direct reduced iron facility’s completion date is not publicly disclosed
- Strategic Impact: Described as the largest private capital project in Arkansas history, and has drawn on site supply partners including Ferrosource and Marubeni-Itochu Steel Americas
Project Team
- Owner: U.S. Steel
- Parent Company: Nippon Steel
- On Site Processing Partner: Ferrosource
- On Site Processing Partner: Marubeni-Itochu Steel Americas, official site not publicly listed
- Economic Development Support: Arkansas Economic Development Commission
Reported 13th January 2022: Construction on a $3 billion US Steel mill will soon commence in northeast Arkansas. United States Steel Corp. recently announced that it had selected Osceola to develop its new mill, and this announcement came in, a short while after, the company decided to scrap its $1.5 billion project to make improvements on the Mon Valley Works last spring.
The US Steel mill will be developed close to an existing Big River Steel plant, which is also owned by US Steel and it’s also in close proximity to another steel mill in the area owned by Nucor steel. Development plans for the new mill show that it will feature two electric arc furnaces designed with advanced steelmaking capability for producing up to 3 million tons per year, a cutting edge endless casting and rolling line, with advanced finishing capabilities.
According to David B. Burritt, the CEO and President of the company, Osceola was selected to develop the US Steel mill over several other competitive site options, due to the incomparable customer advantages offered in the region. He also said the company was prepared to reshape the future of steelmaking. Construction is scheduled to start early this year, with the completion date set for 2024.
Construction of Nucor Steel Brandenburg begins in Kentucky
US Steel mill project to bring at least 900 high paying jobs
Governor Asa Hutchinson spoke in favor of the new US Steel mill project and he was pleased with the investment, which could yield at least 900 high paying jobs. Hutchinson said he was certain that this project would make a real difference in the lives of many families in Northeast Arkansas. The Governor mentioned that Arkansas was committed to growing the steel industry of the state and had created an ideal business environment for steel production. The Arkansas lawmakers were also able to apply effective strategies to lure the US Steel mill to their state; they passed incentive packages last month aimed at attracting the company, and this also included an income tax credit for recycling equipment for the US steel facility.
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