November 4, 2025 - U.S. Steel confirmed Tuesday that the Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock will receive a new hot strip mill as part of the foreign takeover by Nippon Steel, which is pouring billions into the Mon Valley to renovate dated facilities.

The company expects to file permits for the new mill in early 2026, spokesperson Amanda Malkowski said. Details on its construction are still being finalized.

Parts from a previously planned investment will not be repurposed, Ms. Malkowski said. Nearly five years ago, the company was planning its own $1 billion modernization of Mon Valley.

Known internally as “Project Icon,” the investment was eventually scrapped. But some parts were still purchased, Ms. Malkowski said, including an Italian continuous caster that was to be the first in the U.S.It appears that infrastructure will not be used to help Nippon.

“There will have to be new equipment,” Ms. Malkowski said.

“A lot of things are going to have to be moved around” at Edgar Thomson to accommodate the new mill, she added. It will replace the one at West Mifflin’s Irvin Works that was built in 1938. The company is taking steps to ensure that output will not be affected.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the former Braddock mayor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chief Financial Officer Kevin Lewis was traveling in Minnesota and also could not be reached for comment.

Nippon Steel plans to invest $11 billion by 2028 to upgrade and expand U.S. Steel’s blast furnaces, electric arc furnaces and mini mills.