Donetskstal to temporarily stop BF production

Wednesday, 16 June 2010 16:59:49 (GMT+2)

The Ukrainian steel producer Donetskstal Iron and Steel Works (Donetskstal), with the first of its two blast furnaces (BFs) being temporarily halted from June 1, 2010, has decided also to stop operations at the second BF for a period of about eight months, i.e., until the beginning of 2011, due to the falling prices for pig iron and rising prices for raw materials, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency has reported.

"The furnace will be stopped until the stabilization of the situation, as currently it is unprofitable to produce pig iron: at a cost of $400/mt for pig iron, the cost of coke is at $410/mt, which is completely illogical. Therefore, the company will temporarily operate without BF production," said Donetskstal's press service.

Accordingly, Donetskstal will continue to produce rolled steel products, acquiring billets for its longs production and continuing to operate open-hearth furnaces.
 
As SteelOrbis previously reported, on June 1, 2010 Donetskstal stopped operations at the first BF, i.e., at BF No. 2, for a period of one month, considering the complicated situation in the world pig iron market. However, in case of market stabilization, the plant will be able to quickly restart furnace operations and reach the technological parameters of operations that existed before the stoppage, since in September 2008 it developed and tested costless technology for smooth stoppage and restarting of furnaces.

 previous article  /  next article