Steel Mills
Explosion at Indiana Harbor Causes Outage of BF #4
Written by Sandy Williams
December 29, 2019
An explosion caused by a water and molten iron reaction at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor on Dec. 27 resulted in fire and damage to the #4 furnace.
A spokesperson for ArcelorMittal said the company is assessing the damage to determine a timeline for repairs and the duration of the outage at IH 4 SP. ArcelorMittal will ramp-up production at its other steel shops and use current inventory to offset any lost production resulting from the outage.
“Thankfully, there were no injuries as a result of the incident and the company appreciates the hard work from the first responders that helped secure the site,” said the spokesperson.
The IH 4 SP had a daily capacity of 4,900 tons. The incident leaves only IH-7E in operation at Indiana Harbor with a daily capacity of 11,500 tons. ArcelorMittal announced in November that the #3 blast furnace, with a daily capacity of 4,300 tons, had reached the end of its operational life and would be shutdown.
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.