On September 17, Italy, Taranto-based steel producer Ilva received a directive from the Court of Taranto ordering it to switch off a number of production facilities at its steel complex. Accordingly, Ilva will have to idle and rebuild its coke oven batteries Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 and its coke oven chimneys Nos. 1 to 7 except No. 2. Moreover, Ilva will also have to decommission its blast furnaces No. 1 and No. 5, starting with BF No. 1, while its BOF shop No. 1 will be closed and its BOF shop No. 2 will have to be upgraded.
Finally, as far as raw material storage is concerned, the company will have to reorganize its scrap yard. As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the judges have already ordered a halt to coal and iron ore supplies to Ilva and have seized its storage yards.
Meanwhile, today, September 18, Ilva’s president, Bruno Ferrante, is expected to announce the plans promptly drawn up by the company in response to concerns over the environmental impact of the steel complex on its surrounding area. It is indicated that Ilva has developed an overall plan worth €400-500 million. €146 million of this amount has already been allocated.
The first works Ilva plans to start are those on its blast furnace No. 1, which has already been slated for maintenance. One of the biggest problems concerns the company’s iron ore and coal yards, which will probably be covered. Despite possible technical difficulties, the company seems to have decided to follow this path as compelled by the Court of Taranto. There are few examples worldwide of covered mineral storage yards, none of which are in Europe.