ArcelorMittal to restart Gijon blast furnace

ArcelorMittal will temporarily resume production at blast furnace A at its Gijon plant in northern Spain. The furnace was idled in April due to the fall in demand associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

Preparatory work to restart the BF will commence this week to make sure the equipment is operational by the end of September. “The decision has been taken due to the need to ensure supplies to customers during the revamping of a blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Gent in Belgium,” the company says in a note seen by Kallanish.

The restart of the furnace in Spain comes days after the company confirmed the restart of one blast furnace in northern France and the possible restart of another in the south of the country.

In addition, ArcelorMittal also confirms it will reactivate its investment project in northern of Spain that was postponed in 2019. This involves the coke-oven battery #2, the coke-oven injection of gas in BF B, and other components.

The company adds, nevertheless, that these investments could also be carried out under a single blast furnace operation, leaving the outlook unclear. “ArcelorMittal’s management maintains a cautious approach as regards a potential recovery of normal production levels, due to the uncertainty that still exists as a consequence of the economic crisis, aggravated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the company says.