The $372 million No. 5 Blast Furnace Reline Project is being undertaken by BlueScope Steel at its Port Kembla Steelworks
in New South Wales, Australia. The No. 5 blast furnace is one of two operated at the site.
The No. 5 blast furnace is currently in the 17th operating year of its third campaign, originally having been constructed in
1972 and relined twice since, in 1978 and 1991 respectively. The 1991 justification was for a 15-year campaign and
current expectation is to reline the furnace in early 2009, after more than 18 years operation. This assessment is based on
the condition of several key pieces of equipment and the level of risk associated with achieving a longer campaign life.
The critical areas of concern are the flat arch refractory in the hot blast main; the condition of the hearth carbon refractory;
and the failure rate of cooling riser pipes within the staves of the main furnace lining in the bosh and lower shaft.
In addition, there are significant areas of the ancillary plant that have deteriorated and are in need of major repair and or
replacement, which can only sensibly occur during a major shutdown such as a reline.
In conjunction with the No. 6 blast furnace, first commissioned in 1996, the capacity for slab output following the reline
will remain at 5.3 Mtpa. Hot metal output from the No. 5 blast furnace will remain at or near 2.6 Mtpa.
The project involves the shutdown of the existing No. 5 blast furnace and refurbishment back to a condition that will
ensure continuous, reliable operation for a further 15–20 years. This requires the furnace to be offline for approximately
100 days, during which time the furnace lining will be replaced with new refractory and cooling elements, and the
necessary ancillary equipment repaired or replaced. In some cases, new technology will be installed.
During the reline shutdown period, significant operational security repairs will also be performed in the raw materials
handling and sinter plant area to enable these pieces of plant to operate reliably for a further planned 15 years to support
both the No. 5 and No. 6 blast furnaces.
In addition to above scope, there are associated upgrade projects which will be undertaken during the reline shutdown
due to the requirement for an extended outage for implementation.
The shutdown is scheduled to occur in the early half of 2009, and will require significant engineering and trades
construction resources during that time. As much pre-work will be performed as is practicable, commensurate with the
requirements of maintaining an operating plant at maximum output prior to shutdown.
BSL has established an integrated project team consisting of BSL, Hatch and other external contractors to manage the
project.
Hatch is providing engineering, project management and construction management services for BlueScope Steel’s Port
Kembla No. 5 blast furnace reline.
The project is currently in the final stages of the shutdown and on schedule for blow-in readiness at the end of June 2009.
In line with BSL reporting, the project has achieved 1.3 million workhours since July 1, 2008, with just two lost-time
injuries.
The project has a charity incentive program whereby $1,000 is donated to a charity fund for each safe day achieved during
the shutdown period. The fund target is $100,000.
A number of safety interventions have been enacted in conjunction with the project contractors to focus on specific safety
critical issues.
