Tata Steel closes sinter plant
Tata Steel this week closed the sinter plant, blast furnace No. 4 and primary steelmaking facility at its Port Talbot plant, ending pig iron production at the site.
Earlier this year, Port Talbot shut down its No. 5 blast furnace and coke ovens as part of an electric arc furnace upgrade for which it finally received a £500 million ($653 million) government grant in September.
The company expects to announce a supplier in the coming weeks its advanced EAF with a capacity of 3 million tons/year, which is scheduled to be launched by the end of 2027. Some of the secondary steelmaking assets and two remaining continuous casting machines are being retained for major investment ahead of the launch of the EAF.
Tata Steel UK CEO Rajesh Nair said he is "deeply aware of how difficult" this step will be for everyone who are associated with the business.
“At the same time, we know that Port Talbot was a steelworks where industrial processes and new technologies were introduced to improve productivity, often setting standards for other steel producers,” - he adds. “In keeping with this tradition, we are planning for a brighter, greener future through our £1.25bn investment in producing low CO2 steel from scrap, which will save over 5,000 jobs across the UK and also provide competitive market advantage for Tata Steel sites across the UK."