Weather delays ArcelorMittal Gent blast furnace restart

The restart of blast furnace B at ArcelorMittal Gent, Belgium, is expected to suffer a delay due to heavy snow in the area, Kallanish learns from sources close to the matter.

The 2.3 million tonnes/year of hot metal capacity furnace was idled last September for relining and was due to be restarted by mid-February.

The company did not issue a statement on the new timeline of the restart. 

In 2020 Belgium produced some 6.1 million tonnes of crude steel, down -21.1% on-year. In December alone output in the country reached a record-low of below 360,000t, according to worldsteel data.