ArcelorMittal Gijón blast furnace resumes operation

ArcelorMittal tells Kallanish that blast furnace A at its Gijón mill in Spain has begun operations. The equipment was halted in April due to the fall in demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

“The BF is operational by 26 September; the ignition process began without any problems and throughout the day, the furnace produced the first supply of pig iron,” the company says.

As reported, the restart has occurred due to the need to ensure supplies to customers during the revamping of a blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Gent in Belgium. The steelmaker will evaluate at year-end whether to keep the BF active, depending on the evolution of the market.

ArcelorMittal has also restarted blast furnace no.1 at its plant in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France as a result of the better demand (see separate story).