ArcelorMittal has announced a cold shutdown and controlled emptying of Blast Furnace B at its integrated steel site in Asturias, Spain, after stabilization efforts failed to resolve persistent operating issues.
A cold shutdown of a blast furnace refers to the process of stopping production, allowing the furnace to cool down entirely, and emptying it of all molten iron.
The furnace, which had experienced a breakdown during a maintenance halt in 2025, will be cooled in coming days, with the overall process, including emptying and preparatory work ahead of a future restart, expected to take several months. Attempts to restart the unit following earlier repairs were unsuccessful, prompting the decision to take the unit offline to ensure a safe restart at a later date.
ArcelorMittal said it will seek to limit disruption for customers during the outage by reallocating resources and adjusting supply arrangements where possible. The temporary shutdown will affect production capacity at the company’s Asturias site, which operates the blast furnace alongside other facilities.
The Asturias operations are part of ArcelorMittal’s broader European footprint and are connected with other investments in decarbonization and production capacity optimization, including the construction of electric arc furnace capacity in the region.
ArcelorMittal Asturias is one of Spain’s largest integrated steelmaking hubs, comprising two main plants located in Gijon and Aviles. The operations are a key part of ArcelorMittal’s European footprint, producing both long and flat steel products with a combined annual capacity of around 5 mln tons. The Gijon site is primarily focused on long products, while Aviles specializes in flat steel production.
