Posted on 02 Dec 2025
ArcelorMittal has temporarily halted the coating line at its Avilés steelworks to undertake improvement work to enhance the quality of production and improve performance, Kallanish notes.
The project includes the replacement of the hydrochloric acid tanks used to treat the steel that comes out of the hot strip mill, the company explains. The upgrade is scheduled to last until 26 December, ArcelorMittal’s spokesperson explains.
This shutdown comes in addition to the maintenance works carried out at sinter plant A and the troubled restart of blast furnace B at ArcelorMittal’s nearby Gijón plant.
Gijón has not produced pig iron normally since last summer's maintenance shutdown. After the failed start-up at the end of September, the company began a new BF ignition operation using the complex oxypropane method. This process causes significant wear and tear on the facility, as it requires drilling into the furnace crucible.
Due to the solidification of part of the crucible, there is less space inside the furnace for pig iron, which ultimately causes the hot air nozzles to burn out and makes it impossible to stabilise the furnace's operation. This was understood from last week's meeting between trade unions and the blast furnace department of ArcelorMittal Spain.
“On Friday, oxypropane technology was reintroduced into the blast furnace, and we are currently attempting to restart it,” the company adds.
According to workers' representatives, BF B production could stabilise between the end of January and the first week of February if the start-up is successful, with the first pig iron smelting taking place at the end of December.
Source:Kallanish
