Indiana steel mill expected to soon restart blast furnace

GARY, Ind. (AP) - An Indiana steel mill that was taken offline earlier this year for a planned maintenance project is expected to restart this month.

The Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel is restarting blast furnace #4 at its Gary Works steel mill next Tuesday - an earlier date than anticipated as the steel market recovers, according to The (Northwest Indiana) Times.

The furnace was halted in April for maintenance and then left idle due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The decision to bring back production came as the steel market has been rebounding after automakers resumed production and Cleveland-Cliffs moved to consolidate production to just two big integrated players in the United States. U.S. Steel will bring back the blast furnace, which turns iron ore, coke and limestone into the pig iron that's made into steel.

The company has been recalling its steelworkers back to work as production resumes and blast furnaces come back online.