A report by the BBC is claiming that British Steel's blast furnace site in Scunthorpe, UK, could be shut in days depending on decisions taken by Chinese owner Jingye Group.

According to the BBC report, Jingye has cancelled two cargo shipments of coking coal for the facility's two blast furnaces and hasn't yet paid for iron pellets scheduled to arrive next week. Without these two basic ingredients for BF-based ironmaking, the plant will be closed within weeks.

As reported last week, British Steel announced that it would be consulting on closing its two blast furnaces, risking the loss of 2,700 jobs.

Jingye, says the BBC, has been accused of 'undermining talks to save the plant by closing down the supply of raw materials'.

"The situation is extremely concerning, and it would be an abject disaster if the business was allowed to close by default."

Alastair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary of the Community union.

Alastair McDiarmid, assistant general secretary of the Community union, which supports UK steelworkers, said closure by default (because of a shutdown of raw materials) would be a disaster. British Steel had no comment.

McDiarmid spoke of 'approaching a critical crossroads, claiming that if a deal can't be reached, the Government would need to act fast and nationalise the business, which has been under Jingye ownership since 2020.

According to Zengwei An, CEO of British Steel, the consultation process initiated last week was necessary due to the challenging circumstances facing British Steel. There had been plans to create a £2 billion investment plan in British Steel with the hope being that the British Government would contribute half the money, but it now looks likely that the contribution would only be £500 million.

Public ownership (or nationalisation) is the favoured route of North Lincolnshire Council, Conservative MPs and Reform UK's deputy leader, Richard Tice.

While the Government claims to be committed to the UK having a steel industry, public ownership appears to be on the table too. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds claims to be closely engaged on the issue and he acknowledges that these are difficult times for the workforce.

Source: BBC News website.