ArcelorMittal Poland has restarted blast furnace No. 3 in Dąbrowa Górnicza

The unit resumed operations after being idle for several months. 60 million zlotys were allocated for the upgrade

ArcelorMittal Poland, the Polish subsidiary of global steel producer ArcelorMittal, has resumed operations at blast furnace No. 3 at its steelworks in Dąbrowa Górnicza following a several-month shutdown caused by challenging market conditions. This was announced in a company press release.

The unit was blown in on the evening of April 28, and the first pig iron was tapped from the furnace the very next day. The restart was made possible after extensive repairs that lasted over 70 days.

The main work focused on restoring the furnace, which was rebuilt using new refractory materials. In addition, the cooling system—one of the blast furnace’s key components—underwent extensive modernization. Worn-out components were repaired or replaced. The total cost of the work amounted to approximately 60 million zlotys, and the refurbished furnace will be able to operate for another four years or so.

During peak periods of the repair, up to 300 specialists from 20 contracting companies were on site. According to Grzegorz Maracha, director of the raw materials division at ArcelorMittal Poland, all work was completed safely and on schedule.

The blast furnace was restarted against the backdrop of gradually improving market conditions in Europe. The company notes that the decision to resume operations was made after steel demand stabilized.

“I am pleased that blast furnace No. 3 is operational again. We restarted it in line with our announcements, as quickly as market conditions allowed. High energy prices remain a significant challenge for us, but we expect that regulatory changes—CBAM and the new EU tariff quota (TRQ) system—will create fair competitive conditions, which will help better protect the steel market in the European Union and increase capacity utilization,” said Wojciech Koszuta, CEO of ArcelorMittal Poland.

The company expects that the combination of regulatory changes and the gradual market recovery will allow for an increase in production capacity utilization in the coming quarters.

As a reminder, ArcelorMittal Poland has invested 100 million zlotys in a series of environmental and technical upgrades at its plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza. The projects are aimed at reducing dust emissions, improving energy efficiency, and enhancing production safety.