Italian steelmaker ArcelorMittal Italia's blast furnace No. 2 at its Taranto-based plant (formerly known as Ilva) will not be turned off, at least for now. The local Review Court has upheld an appeal for the continued use of the plant. The order for the shutdown of the blast furnace, which was issued last July, was linked to a fatal accident in 2015 which had led prosecutors to impound the blast furnace. Local court judges had ruled that the prescriptions imposed following the accident had only partially been fulfilled.
The shutdown process had already started and should have been completed by October 10. The switching off would have caused a reduction in production levels and consequences in terms of loss of employment. With the acceptance of the appeal, the Review Court has granted 90 days to present intervention plans and to carry out the work to make the blast furnace safe enough for workers.
ArcelorMittal took control of Ilva in November 2018 when it was purchased by a consortium called AM Investco Italy Srl. The plant forms a business cluster within ArcelorMittal Europe-Flat Products and is known as ArcelorMittal Italia. AcelorMittal began leasing the plant - with an obligation to buy it - in November, and is investing €2.4 billion to revive it, including €1.2 billion to curb pollution by 2024.