An appreciative crowd of more than 100 people gathered at Keewatin City Hall on Friday afternoon to hear United States Steel Corp. executives roll out their much-anticipated plans to sink $300 million into local operations.

“This announcement means jobs. Jobs mean people. And people mean growth,” Keewatin Mayor Tom Sampson said.

U.S. Steel wants to boost Keetac’s pellet production by 60 percent and hire 75 people, bringing the operation’s work force to 475. Today, Keetac churns out about 6 million tons of iron ore pellets per year, but its output would climb to 9.6 million tons if the project proceeds.