North American Iron

06/12/2026

Steel is all around us. It supports the buildings we live in, the transportation we use every day, and the production of many of the technologies we depend on. It also creates infrastructure for our leisure time, including major entertainment venues.

And pig iron is the essential feedstock behind the high-grade steel used in those demanding applications.

For example, Sphere in Las Vegas is a music and entertainment venue that seats 17,600 people with a total capacity of 20,000. It is the largest spherical building in the world, rising 366 feet high and stretching 516 feet wide. The structure used 28,000 tons of steel, created with an estimated 5,600 tons of pig iron.

In a structure like this, steel has to carry heavy weight, supporting complex geometry, long spans and heavy loads. That kind of performance depends on steel with the right chemistry, purity, and consistency. Pig iron is required to make that possible.

Yet, the United States still faces a critical gap in merchant pig iron supply. Electric arc furnaces rely heavily on recycled scrap, but scrap alone cannot deliver the chemistry needed for high-grade steel applications. Pig iron provides the controlled purity and consistency that high-performance steel requires.

Whether the final use is a bridge, a skyscraper, or the world’s largest spherical venue, high-grade steel starts with the right pig iron input.

For decades, the United States has relied on imported pig iron to meet that need. North American Iron is working to change that by putting domestic resources to work and producing America First merchant pig iron for U.S. steel production.

05/29/2026

Pig iron helps make the steel that holds modern construction together.

It is a critical input in the high-performance steel used in structural frames, transfer systems, outriggers, and other demanding building applications where strength, consistency, and long-term performance matter.

The quality of the steel depends on the quality of the feedstock behind it. Pig iron gives steelmakers the chemistry, purity, and consistency needed to produce stronger, more reliable steel for major construction projects.

One Vanderbilt in New York is a clear example.

Rising 1,401 feet above Midtown Manhattan, One Vanderbilt is a 93-story skyscraper with an observation deck on its top three floors. The tower uses about 26,000 tons of steel in its frame, created with an estimated 5,200 tons of pig iron.

That steel does far more than hold up floors. It supports long spans, transfer systems, outriggers, trusses, and the structural frame that allows a tower of this scale to rise in a dense urban core. For that kind of performance, steelmakers need tighter chemistry control, and pig iron provides it.

That is the scale of pig iron’s role in construction.

Pig iron is not visible once a building is complete, but it helps make possible the steel that holds up the towers shaping American cities. The United States still imports 100% of its merchant pig iron, even though this feedstock is essential to the high-grade steel used across construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, and defense.

North American Iron is working to change that by producing America First merchant pig iron and putting domestic resources to work for the U.S. steel industry.

05/27/2026

In a recent interview with Canadian Mining Journal, our CEO Jim Bougalis explains why domestic pig iron production matters, why the U.S. steel industry needs a more reliable supply of this critical feedstock, and how North American Iron is positioned to produce approximately 2 million tonnes annually for American steelmakers.

The interview highlights what makes this project work: domestic iron ore from Minnesota, production in North Dakota, short rail logistics, proven processes, and a clear market need.

North American Iron vision is clear: put American resources back to work and produce the merchant pig iron to strengthen the U.S. steel supply chain

Read the full interview here:
🔗 https://www.canadianminingjournal.com/featured-article/pig-iron-production-in-the-united-states-ambition-execution-and-the-realities-of-reshoring-heavy-industry/

05/19/2026

U.S. defense platforms rely on high-performance steel.

It is essential in everything from aircraft carriers and attack submarines to long-range bombers, armored vehicles, and missile systems.

A single U.S. aircraft carrier can require tens of thousands of tons of steel plate — the USS Ronald Reagan alone used about 70,000 tons.

Defense-grade steel is built for extreme conditions. It must resist impact, pressure, and corrosion, performing far beyond the limits of everyday industrial steel.

Pig iron is the essential raw material for producing defense-grade steel. Yet today, the United States imports 100% of its merchant pig iron, and 60% of those imports were disrupted by the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

As the Payne Institute for Public Policy notes in its report: throughout history, a nation’s steel capacity has defined its military readiness. Without a secure domestic source of feedstock, America’s ability to build and replace critical defense assets remains at risk.

North American Iron will close this gap by producing clean, consistent, and fully domestic pig iron that will fuel American steel and strengthen U.S. defense.

The Importance of Military Steel Production in Large-Scale Conflicts: https://payneinstitute.mines.edu/the-importance-of-military-steel-production-in-large-scale-conflicts/

05/15/2026

Can domestic pig iron production reduce U.S. import dependence?

The answer is yes, and the need is clear.

The U.S. still relies heavily on imported pig iron, even though pig iron is essential to the higher-grade steel that supports infrastructure, manufacturing, energy, and defense. North American Iron is working to change that by turning domestic iron ore from Minnesota into merchant pig iron for the U.S. steel industry.

North American Iron is targeting production of approximately 2 million tonnes of pig iron annually, helping address a market where U.S. demand continues to exceed domestic supply.

Hear from our CEO on Business Television:
🔗 https://www.b-tv.com/post/north-american-iron-can-domestic-pig-iron-production-reduce-u-s-import-dependence-btv-feature

Positioned in Minnesota and North Dakota, the company is advancing a project aimed at supplying domestically produced pig iron to the U.S. steel industry.

05/08/2026

Domestic pig iron production is a critical part of rebuilding America’s steel supply chain.

Watch North American Iron’s recent BTV feature:
https://hubs.li/Q04fmZtz0

05/06/2026

Did you know pig iron is essential to the steel used in bridges, tanks, aircraft, and rail?

It rarely gets much public attention, but it plays a critical role in producing the highest grades of steel.

Pig iron is the purest form of iron used as a feedstock in electric arc furnaces alongside steel scrap.

Today, around 75% of U.S. steel is made in electric arc furnaces, which largely rely on recycled scrap. While EAFs can melt old steel, old steel carries baggage. Scrap can bring in copper, tin, nickel, chromium, dirt, coatings, and other elements that are hard or impossible to remove.

Pig iron helps solve that problem. Used alongside scrap, it gives steelmakers the chemistry, purity, and consistency high-performance steel requires. When the goal is strong, resilient steel that can perform in demanding conditions, pig iron is essential.

The Kanawha River Bridge in West Virginia shows what that looks like in practice.

This bridge set a national record with a 562-foot steel plate girder span, the longest in the country. It used 9,030 tonnes of steel, created with an estimated 1,800 tons of pig iron. It also uses weathering steel, a high-strength steel made to withstand the elements and resist corrosion over time. Pig iron is essential in producing this kind of steel.

Today, the United States still imports 100% of its merchant pig iron. North American Iron is working to change that by putting domestic resources to work and producing America First merchant pig iron for U.S. steel production.

05/01/2026

A recent Site Selection Magazine article looks at why North Dakota continues to attract large-scale industrial and manufacturing investment, pointing to low-cost, reliable energy, strong natural gas infrastructure, and a regulatory environment that supports long-term development.

North American Iron is pleased to be part of that story.

In the article, our CEO Jim Bougalis outlines NAI’s plan to produce high-quality merchant pig iron, strengthening the domestic steel supply chain and reducing reliance on imports.

Jim also explains why North Dakota stood out for a project of this scale. Long-term certainty around energy availability, cost, and permitting was essential, along with the state’s abundant natural gas and strong midstream capacity.

North Dakota gives North American Iron a strong position to translate the region’s strategic momentum into secure domestic iron production that strengthens both U.S. economic development and national security priorities.

Learn more by reading the article: https://siteselection.com/energy-a-full-tank-of-energy-options/

ENERGY: A Full Tank of Energy Options by Kelly Barraza Share: North Dakota has over 30 gas processing facilities. Natural gas is produced with crude oil, which is brought to the surface and must be extracted and processed for use. Photos: Getty Images/grandriver THE ENERGY ECONOMY ABOUNDS IN THE PEA...

04/28/2026

Pig iron imports carry more than freight costs.

They carry the cost of mining, inland transport, ocean shipping, transloading, and repeated handling before the material ever reaches a U.S. steelmaker.

North American Iron takes a different approach.

NAI will use reclaimed iron ore from Minnesota, which will travel by rail to North Dakota for processing into pig iron. By putting domestic resources to work, this approach removes ocean freight, cuts out multiple handling stages, and shortens the path between resource and customer.

That is where the economic advantage begins.

A shorter, more direct supply chain means fewer cost layers built into every ton. It also means a more efficient domestic path to a steelmaking input the U.S. still imports today.

Learn more in our CEO Jim Bougalis’ conversation with Mining Stock Daily:

🔗 https://open.spotify.com/episode/3WgRDsxz40SQkuIqausCCS

04/23/2026

Calumet Reclamation Company and North American Iron are sister companies, owned and led by the same team, united by one goal: reclaiming domestic iron ore to produce pig iron and fuel America’s steel supply chain.

Calumet Reclamation Company will reclaim legacy above-ground iron ore stockpiles on Minnesota’s Iron Range and prepare that material for the next stage of the process.

That reclaimed ore will then move by rail to North Dakota, where North American Iron will produce pig iron, an essential feedstock for high-quality steel. North American Iron is positioned to become the first U.S. merchant pig iron producer at a time when the United States still relies heavily on imports to meet this need.

The two companies are part of the same plan. The idea is simple: use American resources to produce a critical material American steelmakers need. Together, Calumet Reclamation Company and North American Iron will create a fully domestic path from legacy iron ore to a key steelmaking input.

Learn more about the project: https://na-iron.com/the-project/