Minnesota Leads U.S. Midwest in Active Industrial Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info is tracking more than 1,000 active industrial projects worth more than $100 billion in the U.S. Midwest region, which includes the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota. Minnesota, with more than $21.6 billion in active projects on the books, leads the region in both the number and combined value of these projects.

Click on image at right for a breakdown of active industrial projects in the U.S. Midwest.

Among the larger projects currently under way in Minnesota is the mine restart and iron pellet plant addition at the Butler Taconite Mine near Nashwauk, Minnesota. Phase I of the two-phase project is under way, and first concrete, which will be part of the foundation for the concentrator, was poured on October 27. Phase I has an estimated total investment value of $1 billion and involves the restart and refurbishment of the mine, and construction of a 2.5 million-ton-per-year iron pellet production plant and an onsite processing plant.

Essar Steel Minnesota LLC (Hibbing, Minnesota), part of Indian corporation The Essar Group (Mumbai), is the owner and developer of the project. According to the company, when complete, the facility will be "the first fully-integrated mine through steel-making facility in North America." Pellet production is scheduled to begin in late 2012. Phase II of the project entails the construction of a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant, which is tentatively scheduled to begin production in 2015.

Also keeping Minnesota the leader of the project pack in the U.S. Midwest is a planned light-rail expansion in downtown Minneapolis. The $1.25 billion project is scheduled to kick off in 2014 and will consist of the construction of 14 miles of light rail line and 12 stations.

Notable trends in the Midwest region include renewable energy projects, the large majority of which are windfarms. Industrial Info is tracking approximately 130 wind projects in the Midwest, including the construction of grassroot windfarms and the expansion of existing ones. In addition, construction on a $30 million wind-turbine nacelle manufacturing plant is set to be complete by the end of the year in Kansas.

Information on these and other major industrial projects can be found in Industrial Info's North American Industrial Database.

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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.