The government proposes to buy coal to save British steel, say sources

The government has proposed to buy coke coal which is essential to maintain steel production in British Steel in Scanthorpe, the BBC was informed.

British Steel has warned for several days that the raw materials necessary to maintain the two operational stoves of his factory are exhausted.

Sources have said the government put in writing to the Chinese owner of British Steel, Jingye, who will decide to accept it.

Government sources separately said that materials must be paid in the next two days or that production would cease to the British steel plant in a few weeks and cannot be restarted. The Department of Affairs and Commerce has not commented.

Jingye said the ovens is “no longer financially sustainable”.

Conferences should resume the bosses of British steel and government representatives on Thursday, the unions saying that the situation is on a “cliff”.

The government has not excluded the nationalization of British Steel, which employs 2,700 people, saying that all the options remain on the table.

Coke coal, which must be imported, can take 45 days to arrive once it has been ordered. The plant also needs iron ore but which tends to arrive faster than coal.

The government of purchase of raw materials is a way to buy time while negotiations on the future of the factory continue.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds met Jingye and British Steel on Wednesday.

In a joint statement, they said that “the two parties welcomed continuous cooperation in talks to find a way to follow. The British government thanked Jingye for their respect for the workforce during this process, and the work continues in Pace to find a resolution. “”

Ministers are believed to prefer a commercial solution to guarantee the long -term future of the factory.

But due to the urgent need to acquire new raw materials, discussions on the longer -term future of Scanthorpe steel are now largely pending.

The immediate problem is to know who will pay the shipments of iron and coke pellets.

An option discussed is whether the government can buy the materials directly using taxpayer money.

It is understood that the simplest legal avenue would be to conclude an agreement with Jingye, by which they agree to continue to manage the factory, as long as the government pays raw materials.

When Jingye announced last month that thousands of jobs were in danger, which sparked a consultation period which was to legally last a minimum of 45 days.

Government representatives would be frustrated by Jingye, which they consider an effective closure of British steel, the period of consultation still in progress.

A source involved in negotiations, which two weeks ago, was optimistic about the future relationship between Jingye and the British government, said they could no longer predict the long -term Chinese involvement in the British marshal.

One source said that the government is now likely to seek another trading partner, outside of China, to resume steel operations in Scanthorpe.

Alun Davies, national secretary in charge of steel and metals for the community union, said that the question of raw materials was an “extreme emergency”.

“We just need them to be paid, once this happens, there can be other discussions with the government on how we guarantee steel for Scantinpe,” he told the BBC.

Emerging from talks, Linda McCulloch of the Union Unit said they would like the national government the site “to maintain steel alive in the United Kingdom”.

One of the high stoves of Scanthorpe should be temporarily closed next week, in order to buy more time before the raw materials necessary to maintain the steps exhaust.

The horizon line of the city of North Lincolnshire has four stove highs, all named after the English queens – Bess, Mary, Anne and Victoria.

Bess and Anne are currently the only two operational steel stoves in the United Kingdom.

Disable a high furnace without making it definitively unusable is notoriously difficult.

A so-called “salamander tap” can be used to temporarily stop a stove by piercing a hole to remove any hot metal remaining.

It is considered a generally dangerous process, but on -site engineers in Scanthorpe are now convinced that they can carry out the procedure.

The “Bess” high furnace should be temporarily taken out of action on April 14.

This would leave “Anne” as the only operational high furnace remaining in the country, but would mean that stocks of raw materials last twice as long.

Reform UK asks British Steel to be nationalized until a buyer can be found.

The Green Party also promotes nationalization and the transition to “green” steel production.

Conservatives and Liberal Democrats said other options should be taken into account first.