Big River Steel announced today that it successfully started up the second phase of its Arkansas-based scrap metal recycling and flat-rolled steel production facility. The Phase Two expansion budgeted at $716 million will double Big River Steel's production capacity to 3.3 million tons annually.
Originally slated to be commissioned on January 27, 2021, the mill's second electric arc furnace, ladle metallurgical station, thin-slab continuous caster, tunnel furnace and hot mill downcoiler were brought on line more than two months early and are already being used to produce steel.
Big River Steel plans an aggressive ramp-up to reach rated capacity in less than five months. Once rated capacity is reached, Big River Steel will produce close to 5,000 tons of steel per employee per annum, up almost 66 percent from current production levels.