ArcelorMittal halts Avilés mill for upgrade work

ArcelorMittal has temporarily halted operations at its steelworks at Aviles in northern Spain, to undertake improvement work to enhance the quality of production and improve performance, Kallanish notes.

The work is due to begin on 4 November 2019 and will last until the first week of February 2020. The entire steelworks has been halted for the next ten days however, according to a spokesperson from ArcelorMittal.

The upgrade involves the replacement of the vessel and supporting ring of one of the converters, a new boiler and a new smoke aspiration system. The steelmaker will also revamp its continuous caster No. 2 in order to produce slabs of greater thickness and width.

“The converter was awarded to the technology supplier Primetals and is scheduled to go into operation on 29 January 2020. Meanwhile, the continuous caster No. 2 should start operations as from 8 February 2020. This equipment is supplied by SMS group,” the steelmaker says.

The investment value involved is €50 million ($55.4m), ArcelorMittal confirms.