ArcelorMittal will start mothballing two blast furnaces (BF) at its Florange site in eastern France, with an outside chance that they may reopen in six years. ArcelorMittal said that the process will conclude by the end of June.
The two furnaces have been idled since 2011, but that meant that they were still drawing some energy and employing 122 people. Mothballing the plants involves withdrawing the heat and fencing them in for security reasons.
Following the French government’s threat to nationalise the Florange plant, ArcelorMittal agreed in December to withhold dismantling the furnaces. It also agreed to consider reopening them in six years depending on market conditions, while offering no guarantees. Restarting the furnaces would like require an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars.