UK steel industry at a crossroads: From blast furnaces to EAFs

In June last year this magazine reported on the state of steelmaking in the UK. Britain’s last virgin steel plant faced closure; the future, not only in terms of jobs but of supply chains, for manufacturers and users of steel, was more than uncertain. Since then, there have been major developments: the blast furnaces at Port Talbot have closed; British Steel at Scunthorpe saw an emergency Government take-over, then nationalisation. Is there a future for the UK steel industry? Julian Champkin reports.