ArcelorMittal Spain has shut down its coating line in Avilés for maintenance

The company is also experiencing difficulties restarting the blast furnace in Xixi

ArcelorMittal Spain has temporarily shut down the coating line at its steel mill in Avilés (Asturias) for maintenance, Kallanish reports.

The work is aimed at improving production quality and increasing productivity. The modernization, which includes replacing the hydrochloric acid tanks used for steel processing, will last until December 26.

This project is being implemented in addition to the maintenance carried out at the A sintering plant.

At the same time, the company is having difficulties restarting blast furnace B at its plant in Gijón. It has not been producing cast iron normally since it was shut down for maintenance last summer. At the end of September, an attempt to restart the blast furnace failed. The company has now begun a new ignition operation using a complex oxypropane method, but has not yet been able to stabilize the unit’s operation.

According to the unions, production at blast furnace B could stabilize between the end of January and the first week of February if the start-up is successful. The first iron smelting after the restart is planned for the end of December.

As a reminder, ArcelorMittal recently received environmental approval to build a new industrial plant in Avilés, which will specialize in the production of high-quality steel powders for additive technologies. The project involves the installation of an electric arc furnace (EAF) and a high-pressure gas atomizer that will convert scrap into steel powder using renewable energy.