The blast furnace was a part of the Redcar Steelworks on Teeside and made molten iron from ore for use in the in the steelmaking process. This iron was sent via rail to the Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) plant, where it was mixed with scrap to make liquid steel; this steel was sent via crane to the Continuous Casting (Concast) plant, where it was formed and cooled. The RBF was built near the Redcar Bulk Terminal (RBT) at the mouth of the River Tees, and was opened in 1979 – it was the second largest blast furnace in Europe, and the only one remaining in Teesside even at this point. It closed in 2015 due to financial pressure, alongside the majority of the steelworks, including the Redcar coke ovens, South Bank coke ovens, and the BOS plant at Lackenby. For a short history of the Redcar Steelworks see the “Redcar Coke Works“.

The 111m high blast furnace was blown up on the 23 of November 2022, changing the famous skyline in the North East of the UK forever.