Direct current electric arc furnace

A direct current electric arc furnace for melting metal, comprising:

• a furnace vessel having a lower vessel part lined with a refractory material and a metal upper vessel part through which a cooling agent flows;
• a cover adapted and arranged to close the furnace vessel;
• means for feeding electric current to the furnace, the feeding means including a main electrode extending into the furnace vessel through the cover, a bottom electrode located in a bottom of the lower vessel part, and feed lines that permit connection of the electrodes to a direct current source, the feed lines including at least two current feeds connected to the bottom electrode, each current feed having a line segment parallel to a main axis of the main electrode;
• and means for at least partially magnetically shielding the upper vessel in a region of an arc between the main electrode and the bottom electrode from magnetic fields generated by the line segments parallel to the main axis, the shielding means including a shield and drive means for moving the shield parallel to the upper vessel to block and weaken the magnetic field produced by the line segment current at the arc region.