Steel Mills

Another incident hits Algoma Steel mill

Written by Laura Miller

February 9, 2024

Algoma Steel Group Inc. suffered another incident at its steel mill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, this week.

In the late evening of Wednesday, Feb. 7, there was an incident at the north casthouse of its blast furnace complex, the steelmaker said in a statement on Friday.

It’s believed that slag made contact with moisture in the hot iron trough, the company said.

The unfortunate occurrence impacted 12 workers, five of whom were treated at a local hospital. They have since been released.

The incident did not impact the blast furnace recovery project, and a full return to production “remains on track.”

Recall that a structure supporting utilities piping collapsed at Algoma’s coke-making plant on Saturday, Jan. 20. BF operations were stopped at that time, and there have been some issues restarting the furnace.

Algoma provided an update on the situation with its quarterly earnings released on Tuesday, and in its earnings conference call on Wednesday. CEO Michael Garcia said the company expected to be “producing usable hot metal within the next seven days,” with a return to full production expected within the next two weeks.

“The hazards associated with working with molten metal are well known to us and we have comprehensive training and procedures to ensure the safety of our operations,” Garcia said in Friday’s statement.

“Our investigation is ongoing to fully understand what happened. Our first and primary concern is the health and safety of our employees and we are thankful for the rapid and professional response of our first responders,” he added.

Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a reporter and editor for Steel Market Update. She has held a variety of positions within the steel industry since 2007, including reporting and editing for Steel Business Briefing/Platts, the Association for Iron and Steel Technology, and Kallanish Commodities, as well as marketing for what was then known as ThyssenKrupp Steel USA (now AM/NS Calvert). After a five-year hiatus working across other industries, she returned to steel in 2021 and has covered the flat rolled, tubular, and trade areas of the industry. She is a member of the Association of Women in the Metal Industries and a past-president of the AWMI Pittsburgh Chapter. She holds a BA in Latin American Studies from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. She can be reached at laura@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7869.

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