UK government secures raw materials to keep British Steel's Scunthorpe plant running

The UK government has confirmed the arrival of a new shipment of raw materials over the weekend at British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, underlining its commitment to keep production at the facility running.

The shipment of over 55,000 mt of coke for the Scunthorpe blast furnace arrived into the Immingham bulk terminal, in the northeast of the UK, on April 26 on the Navios Alegria, the government said April 27. The delivery was sourced from the Bluescope Steel plant in Australia.

Another shipment of more than 66,000 mt of iron ore pellets and 27,000 mt of iron ore fines is due to arrive from Sweden next week, and has been paid for directly by the UK government as part of its commitment to back industry in the country. The raw materials will be transferred via rail to the Scunthorpe plant.

"This government is on the side of British workers and British industry," Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said. " 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," he added.

Newly appointed British Steel CEO Allan Bell said: "We've successfully secured the raw materials we need to keep the blast furnaces running, meaning our production of steel can continue."

British Steel announced last week that it has ended a consultation period on around 2,700 job redundancies launched in March by its owners Jingye, and confirmed it would keep both blast furnaces running with the help of the UK government.

The UK parliament in a rushed sitting on April 12 approved a bill that effectively gives the government control of British Steel, allowing the company's steelmaking operations to continue. Owner Jingye had previously failed to reach agreement with the government on funding for the company's transition to replace the 3 million mt/year blast furnaces with electric arc furnaces.

Having produced steel for 160 years, British Steel manufactures wire rods, sections, special profiles, rail, and semi-finished products utilized across various sectors, including construction, automotive, engineering, earthmoving, and mining.

The company supplies up to 95% of the UK's rail network and provides other steelmakers in the UK with semi-finished products for further processing, such as slabs for making steel plates and wire rods for making steel wire. British Steel's plant in Scunthorpe is the only steelmaker in the UK that still produces crude steel after Tata Steel closed all its blast furnaces at Port Talbot in south Wales.

Platts last assessed hot-rolled coil steel DDP West Midlands at GBP535/mt, stable on the week.