The company, known as Usiminas, announced plans to restart the furnace last year, saying at the time that the project was expected to cost the equivalent of about US$23.6 million. 

"We are already building a new strategic planning process for the next five years," Usiminas president Sergio Leite said in a statement to news and pricing provider S&P Global Platts. "The reactivation of blast furnace is more indicative of the upward curve of the company's recovery."

Platts has more here.