Pohang Steelworks 3 Finex Plant That Caught Fire Resumes Operation After 9 Days

Monitoring of Operation Stabilization in Progress

The scene of the fire at POSCO Pohang Steelworks 3 Finex Plant in Pohang, Gyeongbuk Photo by Yonhap News

On the 10th, a fire broke out causing disruptions in operations at POSCO Pohang Steelworks Finex Plant 3, which has now resumed operations.

According to POSCO on the 20th, the Finex Plant 3 at Pohang Steelworks began restarting operations the previous day and is currently monitoring to stabilize production.

Earlier, at around 4:20 a.m. on the 10th, an explosion and fire occurred at Finex Plant 3 of POSCO Steelworks in Pohang, Gyeongbuk. The flames were completely extinguished by around 9:20 a.m. the same day, five hours after the fire started. Among the eight workers inside the plant at the time of the fire, one sustained burns and seven evacuated.

The police and fire authorities estimate that the accident occurred due to the oxygen injection tuyere (a passage that blows hot air) located beneath the melting furnace (a furnace that melts metal into liquid form) of Finex Plant 3 not functioning properly, causing gas to expand. A joint investigation team that began examining the site on the 12th is investigating mechanical defects, operator negligence, and any criminal connections focusing on the melting furnace and tuyere of Finex Plant 3.

After the fire, POSCO stated, "It will take about a week from restoration to restart," and added, "During this period, the shortfall in production will be flexibly compensated by increasing output from Blast Furnaces 2, 3, and 4."

Finex Plant 3, where the fire occurred, is a facility that produces molten iron similar to a blast furnace. The Finex process applied at this plant skips the coke manufacturing plant and sintering process used for preliminary treatment of raw materials, directly using inexpensive powdered iron ore and bituminous coal as raw materials. It is known to reduce investment and production costs by about 15%.