POSCO’s steel mill in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s largest steelmaker POSCO said Tuesday one of its major steel mills has returned to normal operations following a power outage the previous day.
POSCO said that furnaces and other production facilities at its steel mill in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, some 420 kilometers southwest of Seoul, are all back to normal.
The steel mill suffered a power failure on Monday, triggered by a short circuit during maintenance of an electric power system.
The unexpected blackout caused plumes of black smoke to come out of coke oven chimneys, making nearby residents nervous.
POSCO said the power outage caused some 4 billion won (US$3.4 million) in damage, and halted production of 50,000 tons of molten iron.
The company said that because it has sufficient slab inventories, there will not be any supply delays.
POSCO added that reduced output caused by the power failure will be fully recovered within this year.
(Yonhap)
