Smelting plant with removable shaft-like charging material preheater

A smelting plant comprising:

• an electric arc furnace having a furnace vessel, a shaft-like charging material preheater laterally connected to said furnace vessel,
• said furnace vessel having a bottom, an upper edge, a removable cover at the upper edge, and walls extending from the bottom upwardly to the upper edge, wherein the bottom is a furnace hearth, said hearth, said cover and said walls defining an interior space of the furnace vessel,
• said shaft-like charging material preheater having walls defining an interior space, having an upper region and a lower region separate and in communication with each other, wherein said upper region forms a shaft above the upper edge of the furnace vessel, said upper region further having a gas outlet and a top formed as a closable loading opening for charging material;
• and wherein
• said lower region of the shaft-like charging material preheater is defined at the bottom by a floor adjoining and integrally formed with the furnace hearth, and a wall integrally formed with the wall of the furnace vessel, and having a connecting zone between the interior space of the shaft-like charging material preheater and the interior space of the furnace vessel, and
• said electric arc furnace further having a holding structure for holding the upper region of the shaft-like charging material preheater, the holding structure and the furnace vessel being movable relative to each other.