ArcelorMittal makes new attempts to restart blast furnace B at its plant in Gijón

The company is using complex technology to start up the unit, which has been idle since last summer, and expects results in the coming days

Global mining and metallurgical company ArcelorMittal is making a new attempt to restart blast furnace B at its plant in Gijón (Spain), which has been idle since last summer after scheduled maintenance. This was reported by Kallanish.

A previous attempt to restart the furnace at the end of September ended in failure, after which the company began a new operation to ignite the blast furnace using a more complex technological approach.

“On Tuesday, we reapplied oxypropane technology in the blast furnace. We are using two burners in two tuyeres simultaneously to remove solidified iron from the inside of the unit, and we will have to wait a few days to see the result,” said a company representative.

The process involves drilling into the furnace floor to remove the solidified cast iron, which puts a significant strain on the equipment and accelerates its wear and tear.

According to estimates by representatives of the labor collective, if the launch is successful, production at blast furnace B could stabilize between the end of January and the beginning of February. The first iron smelting is expected at the end of December.

During a recent meeting with trade unions, the company’s management refuted assumptions about the possible complete cooling and subsequent cleaning of the blast furnace. ArcelorMittal emphasized that such a process is too expensive and time-consuming — it would take at least three months to complete, which would only increase downtime and costs for the company.

As a reminder, ArcelorMittal Spain recently temporarily shut down the coating line at its steel plant in Avilés (Asturias) for maintenance. The work is aimed at improving production quality and increasing productivity. The modernization will last until December 26.