The electric arc furnace (EAF) of Russian steelmaker NLMK which was halted as a result of a transformer breakdown in early July is expected to be brought back into production in December 2011.
The negative impact of the EAF suspension on NLMK's Long Steel Division's billet output is estimated at 450,000 mt in 2011. The unit started third-party billet purchases that are expected to reduce the loss in finished long product output to a minimum.
According to preliminary estimates, the equipment stoppage may result in a seven percent decline in the sales revenue of the plant.
The second EAF located at the site was not affected and is operating at full capacity to mitigate the billet output loss.