Algoma steel plant

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Algoma steel plant, also known as Algomatubes; Essar Steel Algoma (predecessor), Old Steelco (predecessor), is a blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steel plant operating in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada:

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  • Location: 105 West Street, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, P6A 7B4
  • Coordinates (WGS 84): 46.518984, -84.374068 (exact)

Background

Algoma is the second largest steel producer in Canada and the largest employer in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. A 2017 report by media outlet The Star showed that while Algoma has received over 78 million CAD in government funding, it still owes over 30 million CAD in unpaid property tax and interest, and has been fined 159,750 CAD in the past for environmental non-compliance.[1]

Transition

In May 2021, Algoma announced it was 'exploring the possibility' of transitioning to electric-arc steelmaking technology, which would cut 70% of the plant's carbon emissions.[2] In 2022, the company started the transition and began installation of two electric arc furnaces to replace its blast furnaces. The EAFs are scheduled to start operation in 2024, with the blast furnaces set to be shut down as soon as the electric grid allows (as early as 2024 or as late as 2030).[3]

Government Investment

In July 2019, the Canadian Government provided $16 million (CAD) to Algoma from the government's Strategic Innovation Fund.[4]

Environmental and Social Justice

In March 2019, a power outage led to a leak of around 6.5 million liters of oil into the St. Mary's river. The company did not alert the public in the days immediately following the spill.[5] There is an ongoing investigation surrounding this incident and charges against the company are still a possibility. [6]

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Phase Plant status Announced date Construction date Start date Pre-retirement announcement date Retired date Workforce size Power source
Main plant Operating[7] 1901[8] 2700[9]
Closure Operating pre-retirement[7] [8] 2021-11[10] 2030[11] [12]
Closure Operating pre-retirement[7] [8] 2021-11[10] 2030[11] [12]
Expansion Construction[13] 2021-11[13] 2022[14] 2024[15] 500[16] Ontario grid and two natural gas-fired turbines at Lake Superior Power project upgrade[17]

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

Phase Owner Owner company PermID Owner company GEM ID
Main plant Algoma Steel Inc[18] 5021594646 E100000001817

Table 3: Process and Products

Phase Steel product category Steel products Steel sector end users ISO 14001 Main production equipment Detailed production equipment
Main plant semi-finished; finished rolled[19] hot rolled products, cold rolled products, sheet, plate[8] automotive; building and infrastructure; energy; steel packaging; tools and machinery; transport[8][20] 2021[21] BF, BOF[8] coking plant (3 batteries (battery #7, 57 ovens, began in 1959), (battery #8, 60 ovens, began in 1967), (battery #9, 60 ovens, began in 1979))); 2 BF (one idle); 2 BOF (began in 1972 and 1973)[22][19][23][23][23]
Closure semi-finished; finished rolled[19] hot rolled products, cold rolled products, sheet, plate[8] automotive; building and infrastructure; energy; steel packaging; tools and machinery; transport[8][20] BF, BOF[8] coking plant (3 batteries (battery #7, 57 ovens, began in 1959), (battery #8, 60 ovens, began in 1967), (battery #9, 60 ovens, began in 1979))); 2 BOF (began in 1972 and 1973)[22][19][23][23][23]
Closure semi-finished; finished rolled[19] hot rolled products, cold rolled products, sheet, plate[8] automotive; building and infrastructure; energy; steel packaging; tools and machinery; transport[8][20] BF, BOF[8] coking plant (3 batteries (battery #7, 57 ovens, began in 1959), (battery #8, 60 ovens, began in 1967), (battery #9, 60 ovens, began in 1979))); 2 BOF (began in 1972 and 1973)[22][19][23][23][23]
Expansion semi-finished; finished rolled[19] hot rolled products, cold rolled products, sheet, plate[8] automotive; building and infrastructure; energy; steel packaging; tools and machinery; transport[8][20] EAF[24] 2 x 250 ton EAF[25]

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.
Phase Capacity operating status* Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity Electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity Nominal crude steel capacity (total)
Main plant operating
Closure operating pre-retirement 3200 TTPA[23][26][23][26] 3200 TTPA[23][26][23][26]
Closure mothballed [23][26][23][26] [23][26][23][26]
Expansion construction 3700 TTPA[15][11][15][11] 3700 TTPA[15][11][15][11]

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.
Phase Capacity operating status* Blast furnace capacity Nominal iron capacity (total)
Main plant operating
Closure operating pre-retirement 2690 TTPA[27][27] 2690 TTPA[27][27]
Closure mothballed 1000 TTPA[27][27] 1000 TTPA[27][27]
Expansion construction

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

Phase Coke
Main plant >0 TTPA[28]
Closure >0 TTPA
Closure >0 TTPA
Expansion

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

Year BF Production Total (all routes)
2020 1889 TTPA[23] 1889 TTPA
2021 2179 TTPA[23] 2179 TTPA
2022 1900 TTPA[23] 1900 TTPA

Blast Furnace Details

Table 8: Blast Furnace Details

Unit name Status Announced date Construction date Start date Retired date Furnace manufacturer and model Current size Current capacity (ttpa) Decarbonization technology Most recent relining
6 mothballed[27] unknown unknown 1953[29] Arthur G. McKee and Company[29] 1270 m³[29] 1000[27] unknown 1980-11[30]
7 operating pre-retirement[27] unknown unknown 1975[31] 2030[11] Ashmore Benson Pease Company[32] 2478 m³[23] 2690[27] unknown 2007[27]

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. Bruser, David (2017-11-30). "Dirty Dollars". thestar.com. Retrieved 2021-10-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Helwig, David (2021-05-25). "Algoma Steel's bold plan to become Canada's greenest steelmaker". SooToday.com. Retrieved 2021-10-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "Developments in the North American Iron and Steel Industry: 2021" (PDF). AIST. April 2022. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 26 (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Sault tube mill lands $16 million from feds, Northern Ontario Business, Jul. 26, 2019, Retrieved on: Aug. 5, 2020
  5. "Power outage at Algoma Steel in 2019 caused 6.5-M liter leak into St. Mary's | SaultOnline.com". saultonline.com. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  6. "Documents provide insight into cause of 2022 oil spill at Algoma Steel". Northern Ontario. 2023-01-24. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20221107233214/https://algoma.com/. Archived from the original on 07 November 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 https://web.archive.org/web/20220113200740/https://www.algoma.com/algoma-steel-inc-emerges/. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/06/23/2468486/0/en/Algoma-Steel-Distributes-Over-150-Million-in-Employee-Profit-Sharing-Program.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. 10.0 10.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20240119044404/https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/algoma-steel-canada-earnings-eaf-recycling-profits/. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 https://web.archive.org/web/20211111164459/https://ir.algoma.com/news-releases/news-release-details/algoma-steel-announces-final-investment-decision-electric-arc. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. 12.0 12.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20230703205442/https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/industry-news/manufacturing/algoma-steels-electric-arc-furnace-project-taking-shape-7168748. Archived from the original on 03 July 2023. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. 13.0 13.1 https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/algoma-steel-canada-earnings-eaf-recycling-profits/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. (PDF) https://www.aist.org/AIST/aist/AIST/Publications/Monthly/085_094_April-2022.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2021/11/11/2332532/0/en/Algoma-Steel-Announces-Final-Investment-Decision-for-Electric-Arc-Steelmaking.html. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. https://web.archive.org/web/20211203231656/https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/spotlight/algoma-steel-transformation-to-eaf-steelmaking-represents-a-new-era-in-steel-for-the-community-4749351. Archived from the original on 03 December 2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. https://web.archive.org/web/20230625161557/https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/algoma-eaf-project-update-fiscal-2023-earnings/. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. https://web.archive.org/web/20211205144126/https://www.algoma.com/about-algoma/. Archived from the original on 05 December 2021. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5 19.6 https://web.archive.org/web/20220120012958/https://www.algoma.com/about-algoma/corporate-profile/. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20220316153415/https://algoma.com/our-products/industries/. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20220319093134/https://www.algoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/C0107464-EM11.pdf?_t=1625770375. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200613071627/https://www.algoma.com/history/. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. 23.00 23.01 23.02 23.03 23.04 23.05 23.06 23.07 23.08 23.09 23.10 23.11 23.12 23.13 23.14 23.15 23.16 23.17 23.18 23.19 23.20 "2020 AIST Coke Oven Roundup". Association for Iron & Steel Technology. January 2020. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  24. https://web.archive.org/web/20220423072123/https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/algoma-steel-making-the-move-from-blast-furnace-to-electric-arc-steelmaking-1.5801009. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. https://web.archive.org/web/20220928012150/https://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/algoma-selects-danieli-eaf-technology-supplier/. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 26.6 26.7 https://ir.algoma.com/news-releases/news-release-details/algoma-steel-announce-fiscal-2022-fourth-quarter-and-full-year#:~:text=With%20a%20current%20raw%20steel%2C%20defense%2C%20and%20manufacturing%20sectors. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. 27.00 27.01 27.02 27.03 27.04 27.05 27.06 27.07 27.08 27.09 27.10 27.11 27.12 https://ir.algoma.com/static-files/162ff601-a279-4504-833a-f57ab2d00b03. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. https://web.archive.org/web/20240212201413/https://www.steelorbis.com/steel-news/latest-news/canadas-algoma-resumes-limited-production-at-three-coke-production-units-after-incident-1324741.htm. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 https://www.flickr.com/photos/68678468@N06/19644694195. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. (PDF) https://digital.library.mcgill.ca/images/hrcorpreports/pdfs/6/631795.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  31. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1561038727264008/posts/3991598124208044/?mibextid=HsNCOg. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. https://www.flickr.com/photos/68678468@N06/18197893033. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

Resources