ArcelorMittal says it has shut down blast furnace B at its Gijón plant in Spain. The decision was made on Thursday following the company’s failed efforts to ignite the operation using complex methods after completing maintenance in September.
“Due to the unsuccessful outcome of the process to stabilise BF B, we decided to initiate the process for the cold idling and emptying of the facility to be able to subsequently restart the facility safely,” ArcelorMittal’s spokesperson tells Kallanish.
The steelmaker estimates that the work will last several months before the BF can resume operations.
“We will try to minimise the impact of this measure and will organise the necessary resources to protect the needs of our customers to the fullest extent throughout the duration of this temporary shutdown,” ArcelorMittal adds.
Currently the steelmaker operates a single blast furnace in Spain. That limits the supply of pig iron for the finished steel production at the Gijón and Avilés lines, forcing ArcelorMittal to import billets from its other European plants.
