SteelCorr Inc., a start-up company, is nearing the completion of its financing for its proposed $700 million steel minimill. John Correnti, chairman of the company, said they hope to have the financing in place by early October. According to published reports the company also is seeking some financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Once the financing for the facility is complete the company hopes to announce the location for the mill, as well as break ground immediately. Construction on the project should take between 20-24 months.
Correnti says the company has whittled it down to three possible locations: northeast Arkansas, Louisiana, and southern Missouri. If it is built in Arkansas, the location would be very close to Nucor’s Hickman, Ark., facility.
When fully operational the mill will produce around 1.5 million tons of flat rolled steel a year. Depending on the finished product being made the company will use a combination of ferrous scrap, hot briquetted iron, pig iron and direct reduced iron.
Along with Correnti, there are about seven other people involved in the start up company. According to various press reports, some of the principals involved in the project include Carl Icahn, who has had a major stake in Philip Services Corp., a large scrap recycling facility; GE Capital, the Bank of Austria and other European lending institutions.
Correnti was formerly CEO of Nucor.
The facility will be located so that the company will be able use barging, rail and trucking.