ArcelorMittal: way to stop the blast furnace 2. It is a question of preventing withdrawal

2019-12-14T08:43:25.444Z

The most feared day has arrived. The judicial custodian of the hot area of ​​Ilva di Taranto sets to work to block the blast furnace. 2. Barbara Valenzano, in charge since the July 2012 seizure, this morning will go to the Taranto steelworks to start the first technical procedures which, as requested by Judge Francesco Maccagnano, must lead to the shutdown of the plant which is now seized again without the right of use For the blast furnace 2, yesterday's was the last day of normal operation. Not having the judge Maccagnano granted Ilva more time to carry out further works to make the system safe, ending the time frame previously agreed by the judicial authority, the blast furnace 2 can no longer be kept in operation. In other words, it can no longer produce cast iron. For the shutdown of the plant there is a schedule of subsequent operations which ends on 20 January. Part of the operations will be carried out by the company Paul Wurth and part of ArcelorMittal (lease manager of the plant while Ilva in extraordinary administration is the property). Adequate in the temporal scan, the time schedule of the blast furnace 2 is the same as last September, when the plant was already started to stop due to seizure, then blocked by the ruling of September 20 of the Review Court which was favorable to Ilva. In fact, to stop the blast furnace now we don't start from scratch but from the point where the work was interrupted three months ago. ArcelorMittal, at Valenzano's disposal, has already made contact with Paul Wurth. "No activity can be carried out starting from December 14th in contrast with the precautionary needs that exist in the present case" writes the judge Maccagnano in the almost two pages of the order of execution. The judge also states that "it seems appropriate to understand what may be the methods of custody of the asset in sequestration prior to its extinction, the residual timing of the shutdown schedule of the blast furnace 2 (already started before 17 September 2019) and the effects that said operation may have on this plant ". The judge then asks the judicial guardian Valenzano to specify by December 17th three elements: the methods of custody of the plant in the period preceding the extinguishing, the times within which, with the blast furnace turned off, Ilva can fulfill the requirements of the Public Prosecutor's Office 7 September 2015 "not yet fulfilled", as well as implementing "any more useful custody method to ensure that - starting from 14 December 2019 - blast furnace 2 is no longer used". Finally, the possibility arises that Ilva's lawyers in extraordinary administration will file an appeal against the refusal to refuse Maccagnano's refusal to extend the blast furnace on December 10th with a few days' notice. Work is underway to file the deed on December 17th in order to discuss it at the hearing on December 30th. The objective of this advance is to stop the time schedule of the first few bars so as not to further compromise the situation of the factory. This is to prevent withdrawal Despite all the difficulties, ArcelorMittal - commissioners of Ilva in extraordinary administration and the negotiator appointed by the Government, President Saipem, Francesco Caio - continue to negotiate to see if it is possible to reach a new agreement for a "new "Ilva. Yesterday they met and on Monday they will meet again. Yesterday - sources close to the dossier contacted by Agi say - it was agreed to ask the parties' lawyers to update the hearing on December 20 at the Court of Milan. In a few days, in fact, there is the second appointment in front of the judge to discuss the urgent precautionary appeal that Ilva in as presented in November (this is an article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure) to reply at the summons presented from ArcelorMittal towards the commissioners and to oppose the abandonment of the multinational through the withdrawal from the lease contract. The first hearing on the precautionary appeal was held on November 27 in Milan and at that time the lawyers asked the judge for an update because it was the will of the parties - a few days before the Mittals had met Prime Minister Conte - to reach an agreement. The update to December 20 was thus established. Now the agreement does not yet exist but ArcelorMittal and Ilva in extraordinary administration are trying to reach it. There is obviously a need for time, work and mediation because the problems to be solved are not few and are also complicated. Today the parties have expressed a willingness to move forward. Apparently, the magistrate would be indicated two to three points on which the comparison is in progress. Much focuses on the renovation of the factory. The sources explain to Agi, to produce a "green" steel in Taranto, meaning by this partial abandonment of the current integral cycle based on the transformation of minerals and the use of both the iron pre-reduced in the blast furnaces and the electric furnaces. This should lead to a containment of polluting emissions. It would not have been discussed yet - or at least it would not have been discussed in depth - of the thorny workforce, also because ArcelorMittal, a few days later, first declared 4700 redundancies by 2023, of which 2900 in one immediate phase, and then the extraordinary redundancy fund for 3500 employees in Taranto. As for today's meeting, the climate is described as "relaxed. Maybe we start off in a contrasting way - the sources explain, but then the atmosphere is better and discussed". The hearing update for December 20 should be requested the same day.