Big River options land for possible Texas mill

US steelmaker Big River Steel has optioned land at the port of Brownsville, Texas, to develop a steel mill on the US-Mexico border.

The Arkansas-based company yesterday signed an option agreement covering up to 800 acres of property at the Gulf of Mexico port, according to port officials.

The option allows the flat-rolled steel producer to continue its due diligence before potentially investing $1.6bn in the development of a second US mill. The company's 1.6mn st/yr Osceola, Arkansas, mill on the Mississippi river began producing steel in late 2016.

Big River Steel produces standard hot-rolled, cold-rolled galvanized sheet products as well as niche products such as advanced high strength automotive steels historically dominated by integrated steel producers.

The company plans to expand its production of electrical steels used in the production of motors for electric vehicles and other devices. Most electric motors are now produced overseas, with Ohio-based AK Steel the only other major producer in the US.