Last Stelco blast furnace demolished on Hamilton bayfront

Goodbye Big E" - it was a blast.

The last Stelco blast furnace in Hamilton was demolished Wednesday using a controlled explosion that cut out the supports under the towering steelmaking relic that dominated the western bayfront skyline for more than half a century.

A massive boom that echoed around the harbour was followed by a slow collapse of the roughly 200-foot-tall E" blast furnace built in 1968 on Pier 16. A few Stelco workers gathered at Pier 8 to watch the demolition and resulting dust cloud.

Hamilton police warned the public early this morning about what was expected to be a very big and very loud" explosion. The new owner of the former Stelco lands, Slate Asset Management, was in charge of the demolition.

The blast furnace has not operated since it was idled more than a decade ago and later controversially shut down by then-owner U.S. Steel when that company ended iron and steelmaking in Hamilton.

Rescued out of creditor protection and rechristened as Stelco in 2017, the company now manufactures iron and steel exclusively in Nanticoke but still runs steel finishing operations and makes coke on leased land in Hamilton.

This year, Stelco sold its historical bayfront land - about 800 acres - to would-be redeveloper Slate for $518 million. Demolition of former steelmaking buildings has been happening gradually for years.

Back in 2004, Stelco's demolition of its older D" blast furnace was an unofficial viewing event - although the public was not allowed on the Hilton Works property or within 1,000 feet of the blast site.

Big E" is the last of Stelco's alphabetically named furnaces, with A through C also demolished decades earlier as technological needs evolved at the 112-year-old steelmaker.

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com