Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel Ltd has announced that it has restarted the blast furnace No. 3 at its Kakogawa Works in Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan after refurbishment which will enable the company to achieve a high level of stable operation. Total investment for the refurbishment project amounted to about JPY 20 billion ($169.86 million).
Meanwhile, Kobe Steel stated that in the financial year 2017-18 it plans to shut down the blast furnace and other upstream facilities at its Kobe Works and consolidate them at Kakogawa Works. After consolidation, Kakogawa Works will be Kobe Steel’s only source of pig iron.