During the ceremony, Cliffs chairman and chief executive Lourenco Goncalves said the plant will convert direct-reduction grade pellets into customized HBI for select EAF operators in the Great Lakes region, those who want to make higher end steels. 

“We’re going to be separating the boys from the men,” he told the audience during the ceremony. 

The plant is being built in Toledo, not far from the shores of Lake Erie, and will utilize Midrex technology. 

“We’re not going to build another Midrex plant. We’re going to build the best Midrex plant in the world. We going to build the most environmentally compliant plant in the world,” Goncalves said.  

Construction has already started and the project is two months ahead of schedule, Goncalves said. 

You can hear Goncalves’ entire speech, along with others, here.