SMM7: ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, said it would restart one of its two temporarily idle blast furnaces in Dunkirk, northern France, in August.
ArcelorMittal plans to restart the No. 3 blast furnace in August, with an annual crude steel production capacity of 3 million tons per year, but the exact date has not yet been set.
Dunkirk (Dunkerque) has three blast furnaces with a total annual production capacity of 7 million tons, but only one is currently in operation. The two largest blast furnaces were temporarily shut down in March and April as demand fell due to a coronavirus pandemic.
The steel market in Europe is gradually recovering, but demand in advanced economies is expected to fall 17.1 per cent year-on-year in 2020, according to the World Iron and Steel Association.
As a result of the pandemic, ArcelorMittal left its No. 1 blast furnace idle in Binhai Foss on March 23. The plant's No.2 blast furnace was supposed to be idle in June, but it was delayed by a month.
Crude steel production in France fell 25 per cent year-on-year to 4.8 million tons in the first five months of 2020, according to the World Iron and Steel Association.
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