ArcelorMittal tells Kallanish it restarted pig iron production at blast furnace A at the Gijón mill in northern Spain on Tuesday. The equipment was idle since late September due to the uncertain economic scenario and poor market conditions.
“After successfully completing all BF A reheat activities on Monday, including the start of the new secondary chimney at the Sinter B plant, today [7 February] we began producing pig iron,” a company spokesperson said. The steelmaker declined to comment on its current utilisation rate, although it confirmed that “production is adapted to the market situation, amid still low demand”.
Gijón’s two blast furnace have annual capacity to produce 4.7 million tonnes of steel.
Meanwhile, ArcelorMittal has ended the existing temporary employment regulation scheme (ERTE) for its workforce at BF A, which involved 250 employees.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
