Piero Gnudi, the new commissioner in charge at distressed Italian steelworks Ilva is working with the banks to secure a bridging loan. This will largely cover the cost of an environmental clean-up at Ilva, says a top official with the FIOM-CGIL trade union.

Roughly €200-250 million is needed immediately, says the union source, who is directly responsiblity for steel. Other considerations include salaries and raw materials, “but the environmental question is of paricular concern”, he tells Kallanish. Gnudi’s task is to be able to offer guarantees to the banks that their loans will be repaid, whatever the outcome is for the integrated producer, he notes.

He confirmed that in the last month, just ArcelorMittal had sent experts to Taranto to carry out due-diligence. But, ArcelorMittal’s two visits were prompted by an invitation from the Italian government, so the group’s serious interest is not necessarily assured, he notes.

Any potential stakeholder is now waiting to see what the Italian government will put on the table as well, he says. No-one knows yet what the government package will include but there will be specific conditions, and demands for green investments: “We should find out towards the end of July.”

Meanwhile, Ilva is producing at very low volumes, compared to what it is capable of, he says: “It is now operating at more-or-less half of its 12 million tonne capacity for finished products,” he notes. “The company is making losses”, he adds.

• Taranto is currently running three blast furnaces (BFs) out of a possible five, following the permanent closure of BF No 3. This means its installed, workable capacity is roughly 8m t/y, according to London analysts. First quarter output for flat products this year was around 1.5mt, making roughly 6mt on an annualized basis, they add. Ilva also has a galvanizing unit in Novi Ligure, which supplies the automotive sector.

Ilva’s total workforce numbers around 12,000, although when including indirect workers needed to work alongside the mill, this figures rises to some 20,000, analysts estimate.