ArcelorMittal slows Kazakh Furnaces after Power Cut

    By Nariman Gizitdinov
    ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, slowed operations at three blast furnaces in Kazakhstan after power supplies failed and a gas-pipeline explosion killed one worker.
    The furnaces at the Temirtau site were switched to “slow work,” Natalya Vysotskaya, a spokeswoman for the company’s Kazakh unit, said today by telephone, without detailing the effect on production. The fire that resulted from the pipeline blast has been extinguished, she said.
    Two electricity generators stopped yesterday, leading to a drop in pressure in one of the gas pipes feeding the furnaces, ArcelorMittal said today in an e-mailed statement. The explosion occurred when the gas feed resumed, it said.
    The company also halted steel-rolling facilities at the site, while convectors and other equipment shut down, it said, Bloomberg said.