ArcelorMittal resumes production at blast furnace B in Gijón

Global mining and steel company ArcelorMittal plans to resume operations at Blast Furnace B at its facility in Gijón, Spain, on May 11, following successful pressure tests. The unit, which is crucial to the industrial sector of the Asturias region, had been idle for about six months due to a technical malfunction, according to Lne.

In February, the company was forced to cool down and empty the furnace after a failed attempt to restart it safely. The restart was initially expected at the end of June, but repair work was accelerated. The contractor carried out repairs to the furnace’s interior, including the replacement of cooling elements, which allowed the restart to be moved up to mid-May.

The restart of the furnace is of great importance to the region’s economy. Since its shutdown, the industrial production index in Asturias has shown a decline for six consecutive months. According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, the index fell by 7.1% year-on-year in March, and the metallurgy sector experienced one of the largest drops in production in recent years.

It is expected that within a month of the launch, Blast Furnace B will reach full capacity and operate alongside Blast Furnace A. This will coincide with the projected growth in steel demand in Europe amid the introduction of new EU protective measures.

At the same time, the company is resuming production at other European sites. In particular, Blast Furnace No. 3 in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland, was restarted at the end of April after several months of downtime.

In addition, ArcelorMittal is preparing to launch a hybrid electric arc furnace in Gijón and expand capacity in Sestao, which should strengthen the company’s production position in the region amid the expected recovery of the steel market.

As a reminder, in the first quarter of 2026, ArcelorMittal increased steel production by 3.9% compared to the previous quarter, but reduced the figure by 10.1% year-on-year to 13.3 million tons. Steel product shipments for the period totaled 12.8 million tons, down 1.5% quarter-on-quarter and 5.9% year-on-year.