Stelco ramps up Ontario integrated mill

Hamilton, Ontario-based Stelco Inc. reportedly has restarted a blast furnace at its Nanticoke, Ontario, integrated steelmaking complex.

The company announced in mid-September that it was proceeding with the “comprehensive blast furnace upgrade and reline project at its Lake Erie Works facility in Nanticoke, Ontario, creating what we believe will be the first smart blast furnace of its kind in North America. The upgrade project is currently on budget and on schedule, with hot metal production expected early in October 2020.”

An Oct. 9 report from Fastmarkets AMM says sources have told that publication the furnace restarted on or around Oct. 5 and the company is ramping up toward the furnace’s expected capacity.

In its mid-September statement, Stelco writes it anticipated its “upgrades will result in improved quality, increased hot metal production of up to 300,000 net tons per annum and a corresponding CA$30 ($22.84) per net ton reduction in costs to produce our steel coils.”

“We are pleased with the extremely hard work of our employees and contractors on this once in a generation project that we have undertaken in the middle of the global pandemic to create a best-in-class blast furnace at our Lake Erie Works facility,” commented Alan Kestenbaum, executive chairman and CEO of Stelco Holdings, in September.