Australian steelmaker OneSteel Limited announced on April 13 that at about 4am on April 11 there was a localized failure of an expansion joint at OneSteel's Whyalla blast furnace, resulting in a small discharge of hot material.
The company said that the incident has led to a stoppage of production while repairs are carried out. Repairs are expected to be completed on April 14, after which the blast furnace will resume operations.
OneSteel stressed that it does not believe the incident will have a material impact on OneSteel's earnings for the current half or on OneSteel's ability to meet market demand.