United States Steel Corporation Announces a Site Selection Process to Expand its Mini Mill Steelmaking Advantage

United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) today announced, as part of the continued transition to its Best for All℠ strategy, an exploratory site selection process to build a new state-of-the-art mini mill in the United States. The U. S. Steel Board of Directors has authorized an exploratory site selection process to build capability with a new, three-million-ton mini mill flat-rolled facility to be constructed in the United States. The planned mini mill will combine two state-of-the-art electric arc furnaces (EAF) with differentiated steelmaking and finishing technology, including purchased equipment already owned by the Company. The continued adoption of mini mill technology will expand the Company’s ability to produce the next generation of highly profitable proprietary sustainable steel solutions, including Advanced High Strength Steels. Potential locations include both states in which the Company has existing EAF operations as well as greenfield sites. The current estimated investment is approximately $3.0 billion and is currently expected to be funded primarily from existing cash and expected free cash flow. The final investment requirement is subject to ultimate site selection and scope of value-added downstream finishing assets.

The planned mini mill investment is a significant step towards achieving the Company's 2030 goal of reducing its global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 20%, compared to a 2018 baseline, and positions the Company to progress on its 2050 net zero carbon emission target. Additional mini mill steelmaking will also create a platform to expand U. S. Steel’s verdeX^TM sustainable product line, delivering differentiated steels made with significantly lower GHG emissions than the traditional integrated steelmaking process.

“Our customers are looking for like-minded partners to continue marching towards a sustainable future,” commented U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt. “We are demonstrating our commitment to this shared goal by beginning the process to increase our sustainable steelmaking capability. We already own and operate the most advanced and sustainable mini mill in the United States. Now we plan to expand this competitive advantage by continuing to combine our research and development and product innovation, deep customer relationships, and low-cost iron ore with additional mini mill steelmaking technology to create long-term value for our investors. Our goal is to build capability to get better, not bigger. By accelerating our transition to more efficient mini mill steelmaking, we expect to continue differentiating ourselves versus less efficient capacity while improving our through-cycle profitability and lowering our capital and carbon intensity.”