U.S. Steel – DR-Grade Pellet Production Facility

Project: DR-Grade Pellet Production Facility

Owner: U.S. Steel

Value: $73 million million |  2-year schedule

Scope of Work:

Lakehead Constructors was hired as the civic and mechanical contractor for a plant modernization that allowed production of Direct Reduced (DR) grade iron ore pellets. The conversion gives U.S. Steel the flexibility to provide iron ore stock to either a direct reduced iron (DRI) or hot briquetted iron (HBI) facility. Lakehead Constructors was hired for both the civil and mechanical packages.

Contract included sitework, footings and foundations – including 5,200 cubic yards of concrete, underground utilities, structural steel for a 178’ x 194’ x 110’ building addition, 37,000 TPO membrane roofing and 80,000 sq. ft. of siding.  More than 3,200 tons of steel was erected, including 40″ wide by 110′ foot tall exterior columns weighing up to 22.5 tons. Also responsible for installing three bridge cranes – two 20-ton and one 50-ton – and a new 110’ diameter tails thickener tank with an 80,000 lb. overhead bridge. Lakehead pipefitters and crew set / installed over 36,000 linear feet of pipe that included process piping and over 13,000’ of 10” pipe to a tailings basin.

Safety: Lakehead Constructors completed 210,000 trade-hours without incident. Subcontractors safely completed another 30,000 hours.

Self-performed: Concrete, Steel Erection, High Pressure Piping and Welding, Plant Process Piping, Equipment Setting, Crane Support and Heavy Lifting, and Painting

Fabrication support: The project team used our fabrication shop to optimize project execution by shifting work off-site: over 1,000 welds on 2” to 24” pipe, 607 total spools and over 5,000 trade-hours shifted off-site, where production was more efficient, cost effective and safe.