Nucor Picks Louisiana Site for Iron-Making Facility

Nucor Corp. has chosen to build its $750 million iron-making facility in St. James Parish, La. Construction is subject to receipt of all requisite environmental permits. The new facility will be owned and operated by Nucor Steel Louisiana, LLC, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Nucor.

Over the past several years Nucor looked at possible locations, both in the United States and abroad, as the site for its iron making facility.

The 2.5 million-tons-per-year iron making facility will use direct reduction technology to convert natural gas and iron ore pellets into direct reduced iron (DRI) that, along with ferrous scrap, is used by Nucor's steel mills.

In announcing the location, Nucor adds that the DRI facility will be the first phase of a multi-phase plan that may include an additional DRI facility, a coke plant, a blast furnace, pellet plants and a steel mill.

Nucor adds that the DRI facility was chosen for the first phase of its project because it offers a carbon footprint one-third of that for the coke oven/blast furnace route for the same volume of product, but at less than half the capital cost.

The first phase of the project will require a $750 million investment. Nucor anticipates issuing $600 million in Gulf Zone Opportunity Bonds to partially fund the capital costs of the project.