Usiminas Ipatinga steel plant

From Global Energy Monitor
This article is part of the
Global Steel Plant Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Download full dataset
Report an error
Sub-articles:

Usiminas Ipatinga steel plant (Usina siderúrgica Usiminas Ipatinga (Portuguese)), also known as Usina Siderúrgica Intendente Câmara, is a blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steel plant operating in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil:

Loading map...
  • Location: Av. Pedro Linhares Gomes, 5431 - Usiminas, Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, 35160-900, Brazil
  • Coordinates (WGS 84): -19.491277, -42.544253 (exact)

Background

Usiminas (Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA) is Brazil's leading producer of flat steel, with a combined capacity of 9.5 million tons at all of its steel plants (including 3.5 million tons at the Ipatinga plant) and access to 2.6 billion tons of iron ore reserves.[1]

The company's Ipatinga plant, founded in April 1956 in what was to become known as the Vale do Aço (Steel Valley), was the first large steel mill in the mineral-rich Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In October 1962, Brazilian president João Goulart lit the first blast furnace, officially inaugurating commercial operations at the plant.[2][3]

The Ipatinga plant had an initial steel production capacity of 500 tons per annum, but grew steadily during its first decade of operation, doubling capacity to 1 million tpa by the start of the 1970s and reaching 3.5 million tpa with the inauguration of the plant's third blast furnace in 1973.[1]

The Usiminas Ipatinga plant originally developed as a public-private partnership between the Brazilian federal government, the state government of Minas Gerais, and private Japanese investors.[3] In 2011, the Italian-Argentine conglomerate Techint acquired an ownership stake in Usiminas through its subsidiaries Ternium and Tenaris.[4]

The Usiminas Ipatinga plant is a leading producer of slabs, plates and coiled plates, hot- and cold-rolled sheets and coils, hot-dip and electrolytic galvanized sheets, and other coated sheets and coils.[5][6] Its products serve customers in the automotive, railroad, highway machinery, shipbuilding, civil construction, agricultural, capital goods, electrical-electronic, white goods (domestic appliances), machinery and energy sectors.[4][6]

In May 2019, Usiminas announced that it would invest R$1.2 billion to overhaul blast furnace 3, the largest of Ipatinga's furnaces, by 2022.[7]

In April 2020, two of Usiminas Ipatinga's three blast furnaces (the 700,000-tpa blast furnace No. 1 and 600,000-tpa blast furnace No. 2) were shut down indefinitely in response to the suspension of Brazil's automotive industry due to Covid-19. With automakers accounting for more than a third of the demand for Brazilian steel, analysts were reportedly anticipating a 50% dropoff in sales from the Ipatinga plant in the second quarter of 2020.[8] Blast furnace No. 1 resumed operations in late August 2020, while the 2.2 million-tpa blast furnace No. 3 remained operational throughout the pandemic.[9]

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Plant status Start date Workforce size
Operating[10] 1962[11][12] 6500[13][14]
Operating[10] 1962[11][12] 6500[13][14]

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

Owner Owner company PermID Owner company GEM ID
Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA USIMINAS[15][16] 4295859856 E100000130691

Table 3: Process and Products

Steel product category Steel products Steel sector end users ISO 14001 Main production equipment Detailed production equipment
semi-finished; finished rolled[17][15] slabs, plates and coiled plates, hot- and cold-rolled sheets and coils, hot-dip and electrolytic galvanized sheets, other coated sheets and coils[15] automotive; building and infrastructure; energy; tools and machinery; transport[18] 2022[19] BF, BOF[20][21][22][23] 3 coking plants; 3 sinter plants; 5 BOF (plant #1 (3 BOF 1963, 1981), plant #2 (2 BOF, 1975; one replaced in 2018, one scheduled for replacement in 2023)[20][23][24][25][26][27][28]
semi-finished; finished rolled[17][15] slabs, plates and coiled plates, hot- and cold-rolled sheets and coils, hot-dip and electrolytic galvanized sheets, other coated sheets and coils[15] automotive; building and infrastructure; energy; tools and machinery; transport[18] 2022[19] BF, BOF[20][21][22][23] 3 coking plants; 3 sinter plants; 5 BOF (plant #1 (3 BOF 1963, 1981), plant #2 (2 BOF, 1975; one replaced in 2018, one scheduled for replacement in 2023)[20][23][24][25][26][27][28]

Table 4: Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

*Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.
Capacity operating status* Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity Nominal crude steel capacity (total)
operating 5000 TTPA[14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30] 5000 TTPA[14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30]
mothballed [14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30] [14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30][14][29][30]

Table 5: Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

*Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.
Capacity operating status* Blast furnace capacity Nominal iron capacity (total)
operating 3660 TTPA[25][24][31][32][33][34] 3660 TTPA[25][24][31][32][33][34]
mothballed 660 TTPA[25][24][31][32][33][34] 660 TTPA[25][24][31][32][33][34]

Table 6: Upstream Products Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

Sinter Coke
5732 TTPA[35] 1463 TTPA[35]
5732 TTPA[35] 1463 TTPA[35]

Table 7: Actual Crude Steel Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year BOF Production Total (all routes)
2020 2760 TTPA[15] 2760 TTPA[15]
2021 3178 TTPA[21] 3178 TTPA[21]
2022 2655 TTPA[36][37] 2655 TTPA[36][37]

Table 8: Actual Crude Iron Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year BF Production Total (all routes)
2020 2639 TTPA[38] 2639 TTPA[38]
2021 3022 TTPA[39] 3022 TTPA[39]
2022 2552 TTPA[35][37] 2552 TTPA[35]

Blast Furnace Details

Table 9: Blast Furnace Details

Unit name Status Announced date Construction date Start date Current size Current capacity (ttpa) Decarbonization technology Most recent relining
1 mothballed[34] unknown unknown 1962-10[40][41][42] 777 m³[43][44] 660[25] unknown 2018-04[42]
2 operating[45] unknown unknown 1965-09[24][40] 777 m³[44] 660[24][31] unknown 2021-06[24]
3 operating[46] unknown unknown 1974-12[40][47][48] 2722 m³[44] 3000[32][33][34] unknown 2023-11[49][50][51][52][53][54]

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Steel Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Usiminas: Reinventando su propia historia" (PDF). Alacero. Retrieved 2020-09-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. "Aço Brasil: uma viagem pela industria do aço" (PDF). instituto Aço Brasil. November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 3.0 3.1 "O nascimento de um gigante". Diário do Aço. October 25, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Techint Group companies expand their activities in Brazil". Techint Engineering & Construction. November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. "Pocket Yearbook 2021: A Siderurgia em Números" (PDF). Instituto Aço Brasil. June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 6.0 6.1 "Our Products". Usiminas. Retrieved 2022-02-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Usiminas usará caixa próprio em reforma de R$1,2 bi de alto forno em MG". Reuters. May 27, 2019.
  8. "Parada de dois altos-fornos mostra Usiminas pessimista com retomada do consumo, dizem analistas". Valor Econômico. April 4, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Usiminas retoma operações do alto-forno 1 em Ipatinga". Usiminas. August 26, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. 10.0 10.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220121110903/http://ri.usiminas.com/. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. 11.0 11.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220113200538/https://www.diariodoaco.com.br/noticia/0001828-o-nascimento-de-um-gigante. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. 12.0 12.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220121194842/https://acobrasil.org.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/LIVRO_ACO_BX.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. 13.0 13.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220318105509/https://www.usiminas.com/blog/mercado/conheca-um-pouco-mais-das-empresas-usiminas/. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 14.12 14.13 14.14 14.15 14.16 14.17 14.18 14.19 14.20 14.21 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220523012712/https://www.usiminas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/usiminas_RS_2021_EN_1280x800px_AF.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220120225956/https://acobrasil.org.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Mini_anuario_2021_AcoBrasil-1.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. https://web.archive.org/web/20220319195401/https://www.usiminas.com/where-we-are/?lang. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. 17.0 17.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220319215301/https://www.techint-ingenieria.com/en/news/techint-group-companies-expand-their-activities-brazil. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. 18.0 18.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220318115249/https://www.usiminas.com/our-markets/?lang. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. 19.0 19.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220318115733/https://www.usiminas.com/certificacoes/. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220320163715/https://repositorio.ufmg.br/bitstream/1843/ESBF-ANBJZD/1/ronaldo_adriano_alvarenga_borges.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220625100836/https://acobrasil.org.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/AcoBrasil_Mini_anuario_2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. 22.0 22.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220318105757/https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/5dcf459c-823d-4c02-ac4b-a2aa54a63486/16fed16a-85da-1719-6ce1-4301fbfa9a50?origin. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20220319040817/https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/brazils-usiminas-to-replace-bof-converter-no-5-1200183.htm. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6 24.7 24.8 https://web.archive.org/web/20220319193401/https://www.usiminas.com/blog/mercado/usiminas-retoma-as-operacoes-do-alto-forno-2-em-ipatinga/. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 25.5 25.6 https://web.archive.org/web/20220927163158/https://diariodocomercio.com.br/economia/usiminas-volta-a-operar-com-sua-plena-capacidade/. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. 26.0 26.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220126122301/https://www.usiminas.com/blog/releases/usiminas-retoma-operacoes-do-alto-forno-1-em-ipatinga/. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. 27.0 27.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220318085742/https://cnmcut.org.br/noticias/usiminas-fecha-acordo-com-chineses-para-coqueria-em-ipatinga-mg-52b3. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. 28.0 28.1 (PDF) https://www.oecd.org/industry/ind/latest-developments-in-steelmaking-capacity-2022.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. 29.00 29.01 29.02 29.03 29.04 29.05 29.06 29.07 29.08 29.09 29.10 29.11 29.12 29.13 29.14 29.15 29.16 29.17 29.18 29.19 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220921234716/https://www.gov.br/mcti/pt-br/acompanhe-o-mcti/cgcl/clima/arquivos/opcoes-de-mitigacao-de-emissoes-de-gee-em-setores-chave/modelagem-setorial-de-opcoes-de-baixo-carbono-para-o-setor-de-ferro-gusa-e-aco.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. 30.00 30.01 30.02 30.03 30.04 30.05 30.06 30.07 30.08 30.09 30.10 30.11 30.12 30.13 30.14 30.15 30.16 30.17 30.18 30.19 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20200606111618/https://web.bndes.gov.br/bib/jspui/bitstream/1408/18340/1/PRCapLiv209331_Investimentos%20na%20siderurgia%20brasileira_Compl_P.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 06 June 2020. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20220319151804/https://diariodocomercio.com.br/economia/usiminas-volta-a-operar-com-sua-plena-capacidade/. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20230929045425/https://diariodocomercio.com.br/negocios/usiminas-nao-descarta-reformas-nos-demais-altos-fornos-da-usina-de-ipatinga/. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 33.4 https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/usiminas-could-restart-blast-furnace-in-october-1308599.htm. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 34.5 https://economia.uol.com.br/noticias/reuters/2023/12/12/usiminas-decide-abafar-alto-forno-em-mg.htm. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  35. 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 35.5 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20230810145552/https://acobrasil.org.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/AcoBrasil_Anuario_2023.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  36. 36.0 36.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240119051040/https://acobrasil.org.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/AcoBrasil_Minianuario_2023.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 (PDF) https://www.usiminas.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/USIMINAS_RAS_2023_BOOK_Portugues-1-compactado.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  38. 38.0 38.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220120203349/https://acobrasil.org.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Anuario_Completo_2021.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  39. 39.0 39.1 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220722190457/https://acobrasil.org.br/site/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/AcoBrasil_Anuario_2022.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  40. 40.0 40.1 40.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20220814212427/https://www.usiminas.com/blog/comunidade/linha-do-tempo-usiminas-58-anos/. Archived from the original on 14 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  41. (PDF) https://repositorio.ufscar.br/bitstream/handle/ufscar/10868/Julian_Erica_Tese.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  42. 42.0 42.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240111083553/https://www.conexaomineral.com.br/noticia/984/apos-34-meses-desativado-e-uma-grande-reforma-alto-forno-da-usiminas-e-reativado.html. Archived from the original on 11 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  43. https://abmproceedings.com.br/en/article/download-pdf/acendimento-do-alto-forno-1-da-usiminas-ipatinga-8-campanha. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  44. 44.0 44.1 44.2 https://abmproceedings.com.br/ptbr/article/download-pdf/evoluo-no-desempenho-de-ventaneiras-e-caixas-de-refrigerao-nos-altos-fornos-da-usiminas-ipatinga-vida-til-de-4-anos. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  45. https://www.fastmarkets.com/insights/brazils-usiminas-restarts-no1-bf-at-ipatinga-mill. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  46. https://maisvip.com.br/vale-do-aco/2023/11/usimina-retoma-operacao-do-alto-forno-3-em-ipatinga/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  47. (PDF) http://memoria.bn.br/pdf/030015/per030015_1974_00253.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  48. https://www.reuters.com/article/siderurgia-usiminas-altoforno-idBRKCN1SX1V5-OBRBS. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  49. https://web.archive.org/web/20240322051242/https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/usiminas-to-restart-its-largest-blast-furnace-1323817.htm. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  50. https://api.mziq.com/mzfilemanager/v2/d/5dcf459c-823d-4c02-ac4b-a2aa54a63486/a2675cb4-e431-2ffa-eb0e-322449d07fc6?origin=1. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  51. https://web.archive.org/web/20221029061719/https://www.brasilmineral.com.br/noticias/usiminas-investe-r-27-bilhoes-em-reforma-de-alto-forno. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  52. https://www.diariodoaco.com.br/noticia/0088422-reforma-do-altoforno-3-da-usiminas-e-adiada-para-2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  53. https://web.archive.org/web/20240322051303/https://valor.globo.com/empresas/noticia/2023/04/20/paralisacao-do-alto-forno-3-da-usiminas-acontece-nos-proximos-dias-afirma-presidente.ghtml. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  54. https://web.archive.org/web/20240322051338/https://www.antena1.com.br/noticias/usiminas-mantem-precos-de-aco-no-3-tri-e-espera-melhora-de-resultados-em-2024. Archived from the original on 22 March 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Resources