Steel Mills

USS Planned Outage Underway at Mon Valley’s No. 3, Could Stay Idled
Written by David Schollaert
September 1, 2022
US Steel’s month-long outage on No. 3 blast furnace at Mon Valley Works near Pittsburgh is underway, a company spokeswoman confirmed to SMU.
The blast furnace was taken offline early Wednesday morning following a successful blowdown. Water quenching is scheduled for the weekend, and shotcrete will begin after Labor Day.
“It did go offline safely,” she said. “It is scheduled to be a month-long outage.”
Shotcrete is a significantly shorter and less expensive process than a full reline.
The planned outage was originally scheduled for mid-October but was pulled forward by more than a month. The scope of the outage is to apply shotcrete – sprayed concrete – to the furnace, she added.
A source familiar with the matter said that US Steel is considering keeping the No. 3 blast furnace idled after the shotcrete maintenance is complete. The reason for the potential idling is that the Pittsburgh-based steelmaker’s orders are down.
When asked for comment on the potential idling, US Steel simply said it “will continue to monitor market conditions.”
Mon Valley Works has two blast furnaces: No. 1 and No. 3. The No. 1 furnace has a daily ironmaking capacity of approximately 3,200 tons. The No. 3 furnace has a daily capacity of approximately 2,900 tons.
The furnaces are located at US Steel’s Edgar Thomson plant in Braddock, Pa. That facility makes slabs and rails them to the company’s Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pa., where they are rolled into sheet.
SMU has updated its blast furnace status table, found by clicking here, to reflect the development.
By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Steel Mills

Nucor’s Utermark to retire in June
Chad Utermark, executive vice president of new markets and innovation, plans to retire effective June 7.

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.