Ukrainian steel producer Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol (Ilyich) has announced that it intends to complete the reconstruction of its blast furnace (BF) No. 5 in November of the current year.
As a result of the reconstruction, the volume of the BF No. 5 will increase from the current 2,300 m3 to 2,500 m3, with the producer again planning to achieve an output of 15,000 mt of pig iron per day. As of July 30 this year, the daily output of Ilyich's blast furnace shop amounted to 9,689 mt.
Initially Ilyich had been planning to halt its BF No. 5 for reconstruction in 2009. However, due to the crisis in the steel industry, the producer was forced to idle the furnace and to commence reconstruction work in November 2008. The restart of the BF No. 5 had originally been planned for March 2010.