by Peyton Haug, North Dakota MonitorCALUMET, Minn. – A groundbreaking $2 billion industrial project proposed for North Dakota could soon turn dormant iron-rich mine waste from Minnesota into a crucial ingredient for American steel manufacturing, marking a first-of-its-kind operation in the United States. North American Iron and its sister company, Calumet Reclamation Co., plan to develop a 2,400-acre processing facility near Minot, North Dakota. The plant aims to produce up to 2 million metric tons of merchant “pig iron” annually. Instead of traditional mining, the project will recycle pre-processed iron waste from a former mine in Calumet, Minnesota. According to Jim Bougalis, CEO and founder of North American Iron, the plant will establish the nation’s first large-scale domestic supply of merchant pig iron.