ArcelorMittal Brazil Declares Blast Furnace Restart at Tubarao Complex

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): ArcelorMittal Brazil announced its decision to restart its blast furnace No.3 at Tubarao steel complex by mid-October this year. The furnace had been out of operation since March this year, primarily due to the economic crisis on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. Incidentally, the furnace is said to have annual production capacity of 2.8 million mt.

The company press release that announced the decision, noted that it has decided to resume activity at the idled furnace upon spotting early signs of economic recovery following the lifting of restrictions. After evaluation of the current scenario, it believes that furnace restart will make the company prepare itself for a larger operational flexibility.

The company had restarted blast furnace No.2 in the month of July this year. With the resumption of operations at BF No.3, the company’s Tubarao operations will be capable of producing 7 million mt per year. Meantime, the company announced that the three furnaces will operate at reduced capacity during the rest of the year.

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It must be noted that the company had declared that the halted electric arc furnace at Sestao in Spain before the end of this month, thus bringing all of its idled Spanish units back into operation.