US EXIM announces USD 10 billion support to Essar’s Mesabi Metallics by Sagar Kulkarni

Washington: The United States has announced support of up to USD 10 billion to Mesabi Metallics, an Essar Group company, for a major minerals and manufacturing project in Minnesota. The US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) made the announcement during the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo last week. EXIM said its loans are unlocking nearly USD 30 billion in strategic deals designed to strengthen America’s supply chain security alongside Indo-Pacific allies. EXIM President and Chairman John Jovanovic, senior officials, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, were present at the forum in Tokyo. Mesabi Metallics is building an integrated iron ore mining and processing facility designed to produce about seven million tons of high-grade direct-reduction iron ore pellets annually— critical inputs for modern steelmaking and will create hundreds of US jobs, the EXIM said.

These high-grade pellets are essential for next-generation steel production and help supply the materials needed for infrastructure, manufacturing, and advanced industry. The project also deepens strategic economic ties with India, demonstrating how collaboration on energy and critical minerals can drive innovation, economic growth, and resilient supply chains, the EXIM said. Through initiatives like this, EXIM is advancing America’s Energy Dominance agenda, strengthening domestic industry while building stronger partnerships with allies across the Indo-Pacific. EXIM also issued Letters of Interest supporting up to USD 4.2 billion in potential financing for nuclear fuel sales by General Matter to nuclear power operators in Japan and the Republic of Korea. The financing would support the purchase of American enriched uranium used in existing and advanced nuclear reactors, helping reduce reliance on adversarial suppliers while strengthening secure nuclear fuel supply chains across the Indo-Pacific. In Australia, RZ Resources is advancing the Copi Project, a large-scale development expected to produce titanium feedstocks, zircon, and other strategic minerals used in advanced manufacturing and defense supply chains. EXIM is providing up to USD 550 million in financing for the project, which RZ Resources is developing alongside Japanese partners JX Advanced Metals and Marubeni Corporation, reflecting growing coordination among likeminded global economies to expand secure critical minerals supply chains. The USD 14 billion Delfin LNG Project, developed by Delfin Midstream Inc., will establish the first offshore liquefied natural gas export facility in the United States and brings together partners from Japan and the Republic of Korea, including Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Samsung Heavy Industries, Hanwha Asset Management, and the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation. EXIM support advances the Trump Administration’s priority to increase America’s energy dominance while supporting expanded energy supply and boosting domestic maritime capabilities.