Ministers have been battling to keep the furnaces burning at British Steel’s Scunthorpe site
Steelmaking in Scunthorpe was given a boost last night after a massive shipment of raw materials arrived to keep furnaces burning into the summer.
Over 55,000 tonnes of blast furnace coke arrived by ship at the port of Immingham, in Lincolnshire, from Australia. Another shipment of more than 66,000 tonnes of iron ore pellets and 27,000 tonnes of iron ore fines is due to arrive from Sweden next week.
Ministers have been battling to keep the furnaces burning at British Steel’s Scunthorpe site after taking control of the UK’s last virgin steel-producing plant from its Chinese owners Jingye.
But the latest delivery will provide a secure supply of vital materials into the summer in a relief to thousands of workers.
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Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “This government is on the side of British workers and British industry.
“The action we’ve taken to secure primary steelmaking at Scunthorpe will not only support our national security but help our steel sector supply the construction of the homes and infrastructure of the future, as part of our Plan for Change.
“By securing the raw materials we need to keep Scunthorpe going for the foreseeable future we’ve helped protect thousands of crucial steel jobs. Now, British Steel workers and their families can breathe a sigh of relief and know that we are on their side.”
The Government is working to secure the long-term future of British Steel with private sector investment after passing emergency legislation to take it into effective state control.
Parliament was recalled for a highly unusual Saturday sitting to save the plant from imminent shutdown after owners Jingye stopped ordering vital materials for site, saying the two blast furnaces were no longer financially sustainable.
Without coking coal and iron ore – the key materials for steel production – the furnaces were at risk of cooling down, which could inflict permanent damage or complete shutdown. It is costly, complex and sometimes even impossible to restart a blast furnace.
Community Assistant General Secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said: “The imminent shipments of coke and other raw materials needed to keep the blast furnaces running over the months ahead provide much-needed assurance for our members on site in Scunthorpe.
“We are grateful to British Steel and the government for the decisive work they have undertaken to secure a future for the business – we have seen their commitment and dedication first-hand.
“After years of neglect, we now have a UK Government which understands the vital strategic importance of steel, and is backing this up with action.”
Allan Bell, Interim CEO of British Steel said: “We’ve successfully secured the raw materials we need to keep the blast furnaces running, meaning our production of steel can continue. We would not be here today without the hard work and dedication of our specialist procurement, technical and operational teams who have worked tirelessly on short timescales to secure the required raw materials.
“Over the coming months our focus will be on stabilising our operations for the long-term, cementing British Steel as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of steel.”
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