Steel Mills

Furnace Woes at ArcelorMittal Cleveland
Written by Sandy Williams
May 13, 2014
The C-5 blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Cleveland suffered a breakout at the taphole on Thursday, May 8. A spokesperson at ArcelorMittal says there were no injuries as a result of the incident and the furnace should be fully operational by the week of May 19.
In the meantime, the mill will coordinate with other ArcelorMittal facilities in the US to ensure that customer demand is fully met. It is our understanding that the C-5 furnace produces 4500 tons of pig iron per day.The anticipated pig iron tonnage lost is 45,000 to 63,000 tons (add 25 percent to get steel loss).
The C-6 blast furnace at AM Cleveland continues to operate as normal.
ArcelorMittal is scheduled to take down their largest blast furnace at Indiana Harbor for major maintenance beginning in June. The furnace is expected to be down close to two months.
At the same time, U.S. Steel Great Lakes is reported to be in the process of ramping up their blast furnaces and BOP’s. Normal transit times have resumed for iron ore vessels between loading ports in Minnesota and the mills located on the shores of Lake Michigan and elsewhere.

Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills

Nippon could up investment in USS facilities to $7B: Report
It's the latest twist as the proxy battle heats up for Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel.

Hybar expansion still on the table as Arkansas mill startup nears
As Hybar nears the completion of its $700-million rebar mill in Arkansas, the company said it is still “actively considering” building other steel facilities in the southern US.

Global steel production edges lower in February
February’s global raw steel output is tied with last December's for the fourth-lowest monthly production rate recorded over the past two years.

Fate of U.S. Steel hangs in the balance
The future of U.S. Steel remains unclear, but the proxy fight for control of the company is heating up. Shareholders will cast their votes on the company's future at the annual meeting in May.

Cliffs to idle Dearborn blast furnace, restart Cleveland furnace by July
Cleveland-Cliffs has decided to idle the steelmaking operations at its Dearborn Works in Michigan due to weak automotive demand.