Steel Mills
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/media/k2/items/src/9f61d6b61f0e7dd6c959b96623e5b473.jpg)
Stelco BF Upgrade Near Completion
Written by Sandy Williams
September 15, 2020
Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings is nearing the finish line on its comprehensive blast furnace upgrade and reline project at Lake Erie Works in Nanticoke, Ontario.
The project is current on budget and on schedule for completion in early October 2020. The upgrades will create “what we believe will be the first smart blast furnace of its kind in North America,” said the company in a press release.
It is the first reline and upgrade for the Lake Erie Works blast furnace and will ensure the efficient operation of the technologically improved furnace for the next 30-40 years. The upgrades are expected to increase hot metal production and quality up to 300,000 net tons per year and reduce costs by a corresponding $30 per net ton.
“We are pleased with the extremely hard work of our employees and contractors on this once-in-a-generation project that we have undertaken in the middle of the global pandemic to create a best-in-class blast furnace at our Lake Erie Works facility,” said Executive Chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/sandy-williams.jpeg)
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Mills
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/stelco.png)
Steel Summit 2024: Stelco CEO reflects on strategy, growth, and sale to Cleveland-Cliffs
In a candid fireside chat with SMU Senior Analyst/Editor David Schollert, Stelco’s CEO Alan Kestenbaum opened up about Stelco’s pending sale to Cliffs, his business strategy, outlook for the industry, and plans for the future. The chat took place on Tuesday, Aug. 24, at the 2024 SMU Steel Summit in Atlanta.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/AISI.png)
AISI: US steel shipments unchanged in July vs. June, down on-year
Domestic steel shipments remained nearly flat in July month over month but fell from a year earlier.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/white_house.png)
Media reports: Biden could block USS sale on national security concerns
President Joe Biden could block the $15-billion sale of U.S. Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel by citing national security concerns That’s according to reporting in the Washington Post and the Financial Times that was later picked up by the New York Times as well as in wire services.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/US_Steel.png)
USS threatens to cut ‘thousands’ of jobs, move HQ if Nippon sale blocked
U.S. Steel could slash thousands of jobs, shift away from integrated steelmaking, and move its headquarters out of Pittsburgh if its acquisition by Nippon Steel isn’t completed, the company’s top executive said. “We want elected leaders and other key decision makers to recognize the benefits of the deal was well as the unavoidable consequences if the deal fails,” company President and CEO David Burritt said in a statement on Wednesday.
![](https://www.steelmarketupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/images/Featured_News_Icons/SSAB.png)
CRU: SSAB to expand Mobile plate mill
SSAB plans to spend $12 million to boost production capacity at its electric-arc furnace (EAF) plate mill in Mobile, Ala. The Sweden-based steelmaker will do that by expanding the existing furnace there. Shot blast equipment will also be upgraded. The expanded capacity is expected to come online late next year. The mill currently has an […]