Operations at Kazakhstan steelmaker ArcelorMittal Temirtau were partly suspended on Saturday November 10 due to an explosion in a gas pipeline, the company has said.
"An accident investigation will take at least three weeks. After that, we will resume production," ArcelorMittal Temirtau's chief operating officer, Vadim Basin, said on Monday November 12. "A complete investigation and production restart will take a month."Market sources expect that ArcelorMittal Temirtau will not return to normal operations for several months, however.Steelmaking functions and the rolling workshops were stopped because of the explosion and a fire, a source told Fastmarkets.Only one of four blast furnaces is operating, ArcelorMittal Temirtau said. But basic oxygen furnace No1 and blast furnace No3 had been stopped before the accident for general maintenance, it added.Market consequences"MMK [Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works] is very...