POSCO invests $381.7 million to modernize blast furnace No. 4 in Pohang

South Korean steelmaker POSCO has invested KRW 530 billion ($381.7 million) to modernize blast furnace No. 4 in Pohang. This is reported by SteelOrbis.

During the modernization, the outdated equipment of the unit was replaced and a smart control system was installed, which increased the productivity of the blast furnace and reduced production costs. In addition, POSCO increased the thickness of the unit’s shell to improve the stability and durability of the BF, and upgraded the cooling system to maintain efficiency.

Blast Furnace No. 4 at the Pohang plant was built in 1981. The unit has undergone several reconstructions over the period of its operation, and the furnace volume has increased to 5.6 thousand cubic meters from the initial 3.97 thousand cubic meters.

The modernization of blast furnace No. 4 began in April 2024. The unit’s capacity is 5.3 million tons of pig iron per year. In addition, the plant planned to carry out six-monthly maintenance of the hot strip mill No. 1 with a capacity of 3.5 million tons per year.

Despite the fact that the company reduced steel production in Q1 due to the reconstruction of its BF in South Korea, the use of semi-finished product stocks helped maintain production and sales at the level of the previous quarter, the company said. In January-March, the company’s steel production and sales amounted to 8.66 million tons and 8.22 million tons, respectively.

As GMK Center reported earlier, this year  POSCO started construction of a 2.5 million tons per annum electric arc furnace at its Gwangyang plant. It is planned to be completed by the end of 2025, and the official operation of the EAF will begin in 2026. The total investment in the project is estimated at KRW 600 billion (over $451 million).