Blast furnaces at Posco's Pohang steel mill almost back up

All three of the Posco blast furnaces forced to shut down by flooding caused by Typhoon Hinnamnor will be up and running by Tuesday.

Firefighters help clean up at Posco's Pohang steel mill in North Gyeongsang on Monday. [NEWS1]

All three of the Posco blast furnaces forced to shut down by flooding caused by Typhoon Hinnamnor will be up and running by Tuesday.

The company operates three furnaces at the Pohang steel mill in North Gyeongsang, which was forced to close Sept. 7 for the first time in its 49-year history.

The No. 3 blast furnace resumed operation on Sept. 10 and the No. 4 furnace on Monday. The company expects the No. 2 furnace to be up and running by Tuesday.

The No. 1 furnace was shut permanently last December after operating for 48 years.

Gyeongbuk Fire Service Headquarters says about 80 percent of the flooded water was drained from the Pohang plant as of Monday.

Since the typhoon hit last Wednesday, some 8,000 workers from Posco’s Pohang and Gwangyang steel mills joined employees from Posco subsidiaries and local firefighters to help clean up the Pohang steel mill. Local fire stations and the Marine Corps have been providing water pumps and emergency generators.

Two converters at the steel mill resumed operation on Sept. 11, but various steel slab production lines, steel rolling facilities and refining facilities are still halted. The company said resumption dates will be announced after underground facilities are drained of water and mud.

The shutdown has cost Posco a lot.

“The Pohang steel mill annually produces 15 million tons of crude steel, which means it produces around 40,000 tons per day,” said Park Hyun-wook, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities. “Considering a ton of crude steel sells for around 1 million won [$720], the shutdown is expected to have cost the company about 40 billion won a day.”

The Pohang steel mill logged sales of 18.5 trillion won last year, which was 24.2 percent of total sales for Posco Holdings, the parent of Posco.

Posco's Gwangyang steel mill, unaffected by the typhoon, will be operating at full capacity to reach production targets until Pohang is restored. Posco said it will launch a special team Tuesday to handle inquiries from customers.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]