【SMM Steel】U.S. Steel restarted Blast Furnace B at Granite City Works to meet rising demand. The facility returned to active production after a restart process that began in Dec 2025. About 400 new employees were hired to support operations. The company emphasized safety and collaboration with the United Steelworkers. The restart aligns output with current market requirements.

[SMM Lead Market Flash] This week, a small-scale smelter in Yunnan underwent maintenance and suspended production due to issues including raw material supply. As for its production resumption plan for April, it has not yet been determined.

The European Union has officially approved a €390 million bridge loan to support the operational turnaround and environmental compliance of Italy's Acciaierie d'Italia (ADI), formerly known as Ilva. The massive Taranto steelworks is currently running at a critically low annual production capacity of 1.5 to 1.8 million metric tons, relying solely on Blast Furnace No. 4 while Blast Furnaces No. 1 and No. 2 remain idled for extraordinary maintenance. The newly secured state-backed funding is aimed at restarting these idled furnaces, restoring essential coke oven gas treatments, and stabilizing the employment of thousands of workers currently under an extended extraordinary layoff scheme

ArcelorMittal Poland has invested approximately PLN 60 million ($16.08 million) to modernize Blast Furnace No. 3 at its Dąbrowa Górnicza plant, preparing it for a potential restart as early as spring 2026. The furnace has been idle since September 2025 due to weak demand, and the current refurbishment focuses on rebuilding the hearth with new ceramic materials to extend its operational life by four years. This move signals the company's readiness to react to potential recovery in European steel demand despite ongoing regional economic headwinds.

According to data from China Customs: Combined for January–February 2026, China imported 265,100 metric tons of high-carbon ferrochrome in total, a year-on-year decline of 51.6%. Breakdown by origin: imports from South Africa were 40,700 metric tons, down 83.3% year-on-year; imports from Kazakhstan were 158,400 metric tons, down 19.7% year-on-year.

[Garpenberg Zinc Concentrates Production Was Suspended Due to Seismic Activity] According to Boliden, production at the Garpenberg mine was temporarily suspended on March 14 due to seismic activity, and the beneficiation plant subsequently also halted production. Seismic activity has since eased, and preliminary inspections of the mine began on March 18. Mine production will gradually resume after inspections of the infrastructure and mining workplaces are completed. It is not yet possible to determine the timing of the production restart or the pace of ramp-up. In 2025, Garpenberg's zinc concentrate production was 101,700 mt in metal content.