Brazil's steel and mining company Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) announced on Monday (January 20) that it started a scheduled maintenance shutdown of blast furnace 2 at the Usina Presidente Vargas (UPV) plant in Volta Redonda (RJ).

The maintenance, classified by CSN as a mini-renovation, previously communicated to shareholders in December last year, aimed to modernize the furnace and extend its useful life by eight years without additional costs beyond initial projections.

CSN said that the planned shutdown would not impact the operating results of the steel industry or service to customers.