ArcelorMittal assessing damage at Gijon steel plant in Spain

ArcelorMittal is starting an inspection and clearing debris from blast furnace A at Gijon, Spain, which suffered a fire March 22 during maintenance, it said March 27.

The company expects to have a definitive report on the damage within one or two weeks, a spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights.

The company said it has not yet determined how long the furnace would be out of action.

According to local media reports the furnace will be shutdown for a minimum of two months, with a temporary layoff plan currently being considered.

The disruption to production at Gijon could impact the company’s other steel operations at Sagunto, Etxebarria and Lesaka.

The fire was sparked by an internal reaction that occurred when hot metal came into contact with water in the crucible of the furnace, forcing hot metal out of its wall and out of a fitting which was due to be replaced, ArcelorMittal said.

Blast furnace A was restarted in February after four months of inactivity under a reduced operating schedule in line with market conditions.

The furnace was expected to be kept in operation until 2025 when it could be replaced by a direct-reduced iron unit as part of a decarbonization plan, which was announced in 2021.

Furnace B at the 4.5 million mt/year site continues to operate normally.

Platts, part of S&P Global, assessed hot-rolled steel coil at $893/mt ex-works Southern Europe March 24, up 25% since the start of 2023.

— Gianluca Baratti