Steel Mills
Algoma takes blast furnace offline after unplanned outage at coke plant
Written by Michael Cowden
January 23, 2024
Canadian flat-rolled steelmaker Algoma Steel said its blast furnace could be down for approximately two weeks following an incident at its coke batteries over the weekend.
“We expect some impact on shipments, the extent of which will depend on the timeline to resume blast furnace operations,” the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario-based company said in a press release on Tuesday.
Blast furnace operations were initially suspended after a structure that supported utility piping on the coke plant collapsed on Saturday evening. When the company tried to resume iron making, it found that utility issues were not confined to the coke plant and had impacted the blast furnace as well.
Algoma has two blast furnaces: the No. 7, with daily iron-making capacity of 8,400 tons, and the smaller No. 6, with daily iron-making capacity of 3,000 tons. Only the No. 7 was active, according to SMU’s blast furnace status table.
“The company is evaluating the potential operational impact of the blast furnace being offline and currently expects to resume production within two weeks,” Algoma said in the statement.
While a repair plan for the coke plant is being worked on, “limited production” has resumed. “Algoma currently believes that it can source adequate coke from third-party suppliers to augment coke production and coke inventory on site,” the company said.
Algoma makes hot-rolled coil, cold-rolled coil, and plate. The company said its plate, strip mill, and cold mill were not impacted by the problems in iron- and coke-making. The company also noted that construction of its new EAFs remains on track.
Algoma plans to convert from integrated steelmaking to EAF steelmaking. Construction of two new EAFs is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The new furnaces are expected to ramp up in 2025.
Michael Cowden
Read more from Michael CowdenLatest in Steel Mills
Cliffs touts steel stamping solution to replace aluminum in automotive
Cliffs said it successfully completed a defect-free trial production of exposed steel parts using aluminum-forming equipment in collaboration with an unnamed OEM,
Nucor navigates mixed flat-rolled markets with strategic muscle
Nucor entered the fourth quarter with clear forward momentum: stronger-than-expected results, solid sheet and plate demand, and construction progress on a major new mill that should add capacity next year.
Nucor scraps plans for new rebar micro mill in Pacific Northwest
Nucor has pulled the plug on a planned rebar micro mill in the Pacific Northwest.
Nucor profits jump, but company cautions on Q4 outlook
Nucor’s profits more than doubled in the third quarter year over year, but the company expects Q4’25 to be lower sequentially.
SDI announces proprietary low-carbon EDGE products
Steel Dynamics has announced lower-embodied-carbon steel products BIOEDGE and EDGE, and expects “immediate interest” from several markets for some of the offerings.