ArcelorMittal expects to further hike steel production from its Spanish Sestao site to around 70,000 mt/month by the second quarter due to a favorable demand outlook, the company's Spanish subsidiary said Feb. 15.

            The increase follows an initial target that was set a month ago to reach 45,000 mt/month. The plant has the capacity to produce 1 million mt/year of steel, or 83,000 mt/month.

            The electric arc furnace at Sestao was restarted in September 2020 after being halted by the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, with an initial objective of hitting 40,000 mt/month production.

            In its other operations, the company also restarted its A Sinter in Gijon on Jan. 4, which had been halted since April 2020, while its furnaces at Gijon, with a combined capacity of 5 million mt/year, the integrated sheet steel production site at Aviles, and the coking batteries are all in operation.

-- Gianluca Baratti