Algoma Steel Group Inc. announced Jan. 23 it has resumed limited production at its three coke-making units after a major piping collapse over the weekend.
"A repair plan for the coke-making plant is being developed with third-party engineering support in accordance with Algoma's environmental compliance approval," the company said in a news release.
The steelmaker also disclosed that its blast furnace was taken offline after Saturday's incident, but work has begun to restart it.
"The company is evaluating the potential operational impact of the blast furnace being offline and currently expects to resume production within two weeks," the news release said.
"We expect some impact on shipments, the extent of which will depend on the timeline to resume operations."
Last night, the company provided an explanation to SooToday about the 'flushing liquor' spill that happened after Saturday's structure collapse.
The following is the statement released by Algoma Steel this morning.
Algoma Steel Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTL; TSX: ASTL), a leading Canadian producer of hot and cold rolled steel sheet and plate products, today provided an update further to the incident on Saturday, January 20 at its coke-making plant when a structure supporting utilities piping collapsed.
Algoma advised that the water-related environmental release was fully contained by the evening of January 20, with most of the effluent being contained on-site.
As a result, Algoma currently believes that there is a low risk of impact to the adjacent waterway.
The company remains in contact with regulatory authorities, union leadership, and local stakeholders including Indigenous communities.
A repair plan for the coke-making plant is being developed with third-party engineering support in accordance with Algoma's environmental compliance approval.
While the company is actively assessing coke-making capacity, limited production has resumed at the three coke-production units.
At the time of the coke-making incident, for safety reasons blast furnace operations were temporarily suspended while the site was secured.
Upon the normal course resumption of iron production, Algoma experienced issues at the blast furnace related to other utilities supplying the facility as an unexpected consequence of the coke-making incident.
As a result, the blast furnace was taken offline and work is underway to restart the furnace.
The company is evaluating the potential operational impact of the blast furnace being offline and currently expects to resume production within two weeks.
We expect some impact on shipments, the extent of which will depend on the timeline to resume operations.
Algoma’s combined plate/strip mill and cold mill operations remain unaffected by the incident, as does the EAF [electric arc furnace] construction.
Algoma currently believes that it can source adequate coke from third-party suppliers to augment coke production and coke inventory on site.
Algoma has given notice to relevant insurance providers and continues to complete assessments and advance repairs to expedite a return to normal operations while prioritizing the ongoing safety of its employees, the community and the environment.
— SooToday
