US-based mining and natural resources company Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. has announced that it will indefinitely idle its blast furnace No. 4 at its Indiana Harbor plant as a result of the implementation of operational improvements, particularly the addition of significant amounts of hot briquetted iron (HBI) to the burden of blast furnaces and the maximization of scrap usage in basic oxygen furnaces.
The company will continue normal operations at the entire Indiana Harbor Works, including the two steel shops, the hot strip mill and all its finishing facilities, as well as the nearby Riverdale Works. With both Indiana Harbor blast furnaces No. 3 and No. 4 now indefinitely idled, going forward all downstream operations including the Riverdale Works will be supplied exclusively by the company’s blast furnace No. 7.
The blast furnace No. 4, which has a production capacity of 2.1 million net tons of hot metal per year, is expected to cease production within the next two months. The company does not expect any change in full-year 2022 steel shipment volumes as a result of the indefinite idling of the blast furnace No. 4.
The company will also notify its customers that it is increasing current spot market base prices for all April orders of carbon hot rolled, cold rolled and coated steel products by a minimum of $50/mt.