According to a foreign newspaper, ArcelorMittal may resume operation at its second blast furnace in Dunkerque, France from mid January after it remained shut since August.
The company originally shut down the blast furnace for maintenance but kept it closed owing to low demand. According to the firm, steel demand in Europe declined 29 per cent since the onset of the global economic crisis and it had to write down the value of its European operations by $4.3 billion (euro 3.3 billion).
The restarting of the Dunkerque blast furnace will bring the facility which employs some 3,000 people back up to full operation, and will in part supply the Florange facility with raw steel for processing.
On the back of sluggish demand, ArcelorMittal has sought to lower its capacity in low products and has reached a deal with employees at its site in the Belgian city of Liege.
It may be noted that earlier, the French government threatened to nationalise the company’s Florange site over two blast furnaces that the the steelmaker says are no longer financially viable.
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