The largest German steel producer ThyssenKrupp AG has announced that it will delay the opening of its Brazilian joint venture mill for four to six months. However, this delay will not affect the start of production at the new $3.7 billion-worth mill which the company is building in Calvert, Alabama, US, where slabs from the Brazilian mill are to be shipped.
ThyssenKrupp AG is building the mill in question with Brazilian iron ore giant Vale at the coastal location of Sepetiba in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The mill will have an annual capacity of 4.4 million tons of steel and will include two blast furnaces, a melt shop with two converters and two continuous casters, all meeting the latest environmental standards.
The Brazilian facility is scheduled to ship raw steel to both the Calvert location and to mills in Europe for further processing.