Russian steelmaker NLMK has announced that, starting from May 30 and as part of its program aimed at increasing the efficiency of production and resource use, it is idling its blast furnace No. 3 with an annual capacity of 1.3 million mt at its main production site in Lipetsk. The blast furnace will undergo scheduled maintenance and repairs.
According to NLMK, the temporary idling of blast furnace No. 3 will lead to some reduction in the sales of commercial pig iron, demand for which has recently been falling. At the same time, it will have no impact on the overall crude steel and rolled product output planned for the second half of 2013. NLMK Group has confirmed its previously announced steel production outlook for 2013 at approximately 15.5 million mt per year with a three percent year-on-year increase.
NLMK said that the decision to re-launch the furnace will be made as market conditions improve.