Last blast furnace shuts down at Port Talbot, ending virgin steel production

It is the end at one of the biggest steelworks in the world as the last blast furnace shuts down, leaving it unable to make its own steel.

Nearly 2,000 jobs will be lost at Tata Steel UK’s Port Talbot plant as blast furnace number four ceases production meaning it will no longer be able to make virgin steel.

The ironworks will enter a transition phase until 2027 when steelmaking will resume through a £1.25 billion electric arc furnace.

The new furnace uses electric current to melt scrap steel or iron to produce steel, whereas blast furnaces use coke, a carbon-intensive fuel made from coal to produce steel.