OREANDA-NEWS. July 22, 2009. Severstal announced today that it restarted Blast Furnace No. 1 at its Cherepovets Steel Mill (Russia). The restart of the furnace will optimize the production process at the facility, with a total capacity of 1.1 million tonnes of pig iron per year.The 1,007 mі furnace was idled in December 2008 amid the worsening economic conditions to match production with market demand. During this period the blast furnace underwent a series of repairs to its lining and cooling plates, hot and cold blast lines and its top and bottom charging system. Prior to its idling, BF No. 1 accounted for 13% of  the mill total pig iron production.

Following the restart of BF No. 1, Cherepovets Steel Mill will have three blast furnaces in operation (BF No.3 is undergoing renovation), with pig iron capacity reaching 7.85-7.90 million tonnes per year.