Bruno Ferrante, president of Taranto-based Italian steel producer Ilva, has stated that as soon as metallurgical equipment supplier Paul Wurth has completed a preliminary study of Ilva's blast furnace No. 5, then the steelmaker will decide its schedule for proceeding with the shutdown of the blast furnace. The BF No. 5, the biggest at the Ilva plant, produces about 11-12,000 metric tons of pig iron per day. According to the plan recently issued by Ilva, the plant will be idled in the second half of 2015, whereas local prosecutors, concerned over the environmental impact of the Ilva steelmaking complex on its surrounding area, have ordered an immediate halt to operations at BF No. 5. Meanwhile, in line with prosecutors' orders, the turning-off process for Ilva's blast furnace No. 1, started yesterday, October 11 and will be completed by December 1.
Contrary to the BF No. 1, designed and built by Paul Wurth, the BF No. 5 was constructed by Japan's Nippon Steel. Since the intervention of the Japanese company would have taken a very long time, the task of developing a technical study on the shutdown of the furnace was also given to Luxembourg-based Paul Wurth, as stated by Ilva. Based on the information submitted by Ilva, Paul Wurth will receive an extensive technical documentation (drawings, materials and equipment specifications, etc.) and will have until November 22 to consider a strategy that avoids irreparable damage to the blast furnace itself.