According to local media reports, South Korean steelmaker Pohang Iron and Steel Co. (POSCO) plans to shut down its blast furnace No. 1 which started operations on June 9, 1973, at its Pohang mill next year, in order to become more competitive due to the sharp drop in its earnings amid the lower demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The blast furnace No.1, which has almost 1.3 million mt of crude steel production capacity per year, accounts for approximately three percent of POSCO’s total capacity.
The company had previously made improvements at the blast furnace in order to extend its operational lifetime. In 2017, POSCO had decided to close the blast furnace but it remained in operation.
POSCO also plans to close blast furnace No. 2 at Pohang by 2025, transferring all production operations to its other state-of-the-art blast furnaces at its Gwangyang mill.